Titania's Facade
by erzy
Summary: Risking her life in the underground is her passion, to the illegal world she goes by Titania. In her day life, she's a highschool student and her name is Erza Scarlet. Only her two close friends Juvia and Lucy are aware of how she manages this balance. After a rude encounter with an upperclassmen, Erza slowly befriends Jellal. Will he be her happiness?Or will he shatter her secrets
1. Titania Erza

**I decided to start yet another story without finishing other ones, smh. Anyway I hope you enjoy, and credit to VesperChan for some events that took place I got inspired by him or her. Well hope you enjoy please read and review!**

The scarlet haired woman checked the time on her phone, it was a barely working iphone 5s but it was still enough to get by. It read almost quarter past ten, which meant to Erza that it was time to go. She glanced over at her roommate and best friend Juvia Lockser who was dressed in a tight blue tank top that matched her hair color and showed way more cleavage than needed, paired with a pair of black joggers. "You ready to go?" She asked the red head, Erza sighed and tied her long hair up into a high ponytail with her side bangs left out. She was ready, she could already feel the nerves and adrenaline rush through her body and she didn't even leave the house yet.

She swung her black gym bag over her shoulder, she was basically dressed in dark grey baggy Reebok sweatpants and a burgundy crop top. "Yes let's headout." She replied with a smirk before opening the door to their two bedroom apartment. She allowed Juvia out before her so she could lock the door. "Are you nervous Erza?" Juvia asked as they made their way down the stairs, the red haired girl felt more fired up than anything. "Slightly, but the adrenaline is more dominant." She replied. Juvia opened the door into the cool night air, it was only late August and the nights were already starting to cool down and lose the humidity. Erza closed the door behind her and followed her roommate.

The night was young and the two girls began to walk the streets of their city on the way to their destination, the destination to the world of blood and illegal activity. Erza Scarlet was not even fifteen years old yet and she was an underground boxer.

...

Paying to get in was never an issue for Juvia or Erza since they knew the owner of this place quite well, it wasn't a very complex business, well at least not to Erza but it was very illegal. Even being there was considered a crime, no matter if you were fighting or betting on fighters. Even though Erza had only started fighting a little over a year ago, she was not your typical amateur. She was making it to the gym almost everyday and with practice she got good, and fast. Which caused her to move up the ranks very quickly over the course of the past months. She had a good stamina and a striking endurance, she could take multiple fatal hits before she was down for the count which wasn't too often.

Despite that it was a very dangerous industry, people lost their lives in the ring almost every other night and barely anyone raised a question to it. Why? Because it wasn't that significant nor they didn't have a say in it. Nobody could out this place even if they wanted to because there was a good chance the owners had something even worse on them.

"Alright Erza you ready?" Juvia asked as she touched up her messy yet cute bun, she wasn't much of a fighter and she wouldn't dare set foot in the ring. But she would however support her best friend through thick and thin. The scarlet haired girl was dressed in fairly short black shorts and black sports bra to match, it had good support which meant her DDs never got in the way. Juvia had done her the favor to tightly french braid her hair and then tie it into a low bun so her opponent wouldn't have a chance to make a cheap shot by hair pulling. Erza had a deep red red long silky robe and she pulled the hood over and began to make her way to the ring, "Juvia wishes you luck!" The blue haired girl said, Erza thanked her before entering the arena. As soon as the referee gave the ok both fighters pulled off their robes and tossed them on the floor behind them.

Erza analyzed her opponent, she was already well aware of who the female was. Her long white hair is what gave it away, her name was Mirajane and she was known as the Demon Spawn. Which was quite intriguing since you would never tell from her daytime persona. They both held their fists up to their face and began the fight, Mira was one the first to strike. Starting with a quick jab aiming at Erza's throat, the red head was quick and light on her feet and swiftly dodged it.

Erza could hear the music booming through the speakers it didn't take many lyrics for her to realize what the song was, it was 'White Rabbit' by Egypt Central.

 _You can't fix your broken promise_

 _our ties have come undone_

 _I will not be used to be battered and abused_

 _It's the reason why I choose to cut my losses_

Erza found an opening and gave Mira a kidney punch, if this was a typical girl that would've been considered a knockout punch. Mira had endurance and she was very skilled, that blow only gave the red head a short amount of time to get another hit in. Erza gave her a punch to the face, Mira spit out some blood and countered by giving the other fighter a low kick to the back of foot causing Erza to fall.

Even though this wasn't a championship fight it was surely an interesting one, and the crowd was cheering loudly with the mixed sound of booing from the Titania fans. Mirajane didn't hesitate to kick Erza straight in the face, causing Erza to turn over and face the other side of the ring, blood was spilling from her nose and she knew she couldn't lose this easily. Erza pushed herself up with her hands, paying no attention to the aching in her wrists. Mira watched the red head get up and had a new found form of respect for this girl. She once again raised her gloves to her face and Erza did the same, an array of quick jabs came from the older girl and Erza did her best to dodge. _I'm gonna finish this now._ Erza was waiting for an opening, she noticed that the other fighter was so keen on winning that she knew she would slip up soon.

And there it was, Mira was so intent about getting Erza in the face she didn't even realize the girl's next attack would end the match. Erza smirked when she hit her target, she watched as Mira got the wind taken out of her from the effects of the red head's solar plexus punch. It was a move that would cause your opponents nerve impulses to spasm. It was a move Erza refrained from using too often because it was unpredictable. In this instant Erza attacked with a roundhouse kick to her opponent's head causing an instant knockout. The countdown began.

10...

9..

8...

Erza let out a deep breath in relief knowing that she would get to pay her half of the rent this month and then some.

7...

6...

5..

4..3..2..

1..

"And your winner is Titania!" Erza smiled at the shout as she felt her arm being raised up. The crowd was cheering loudly and this motivated Erza to try and go for the championship in the future.

"Juvia is so proud of you! I thought you were gonna lose there for a minute but you really surprised me." Juvia was excited and clapping for her friend as they made their way to the back to get changed. Erza changed back into her sweatpants and crop top while pulling over her white cropped hoodie that said "LA" on it in large gold letters. She released her hair from the tight braid and let the waves flow freely from their bondage. She packed up her clothes, hand wraps, and black gloves and swung the bag over her shoulder once more.

"It's getting really late, Juvia thinks we should get straight to bed once we get home. We can't be late to our first day of school tomorrow." Juvia reminded, Erza raised her eyebrow at the word 'school'. If she was right then she knew that school wasn't for a few days. "Juvia we still have a few more days of freedom before we begin our lives as freshmen." Erza replied as they both began to make their way out. "No Juvia is correct, school starts on the 30th and that's tomorrow." Erza groaned, she mistakenly thought it was the 27th. It is what it is, and Erza knew they would pay for staying out late when it's time to wake up at six in the morning.

The guy at the front handed Erza a wad of cash that she tossed into her bag before zipping it up tightly, it was not a very long walk home but both Juvia and Erza knew that they would've wished they slept earlier.

...

The standard IOS alarm clock ring caused Erza's body to twitch and her eyes shot wide open, she yawned and instantly wanted to return to her peaceful sleep, considering she only got four hours of it. The time read five past six and Erza knew it was time to wake up, fighting the temptation to hit the snooze button she turned off her alarm and jumped out of bed groggily. She walked into the kitchen and got the coffee maker going, she heard noises coming from Juvia's room she knew that she was already up. Erza quickly jumped into the shower before Juvia got to it and washed her hair and the all the dirtiness from the day before.

She got out and wrapped a pink towel around herself and grabbed another to wrap her hair, she grabbed her toothbrush and started to brush her teeth while rushing into her room to find her uniform. She threw on a white bra with matching underwear and then quickly put on her black skirt, she paired it with black thigh highs to hide the bruises from last night's match. She was surprised to see that there was none on her face, her nose was a little red but that was all. Usually a kick to the face would break your nose but she looked and felt fine, just a little sore. Once she finished getting ready she met Juvia in the kitchen who had already helped herself to coffee and toast, Erza just fixed herself a cup of coffee with cream and sugar since she didn't have much of an appetite.

"Lucy called and confirmed that she would be in our homeroom." Juvia stated as she took another bite of her toast. Lucy Heartfilia was the only other person besides Juvia who knew what Erza was involved in. She was just as close to Erza as Juvia was aside from the fact that she didn't live with them. But Lucy and Juvia were co-workers at a local coffee shop that was located a few streets over.

Erza checked her phone, it read seven thirty-two, they had thirteen minutes to be there before they were considered late. "We should get going or we'll have detention on our first day." Erza said without looking up, Juvia said something like 'okay' but the red head could barely understand since Juvia shoved the rest of her toast in her mouth and rushed to her room to grab her bag.

Erza pulled her backpack over her shoulder and began to walkout the door, Juvia followed closely behind and since she had the keys she was the one to lock the door. They exited through the main door and felt the cool late summer breeze, it was nice out and not too humid. Erza groaned again, she wanted to sleep for a week and she knew she deserved it. But yet here she was walking to school on her first day of her freshman year of highschool.

...

Erza stood in front of her locker which was number 1104, she put in the combination and began to sort her bag, binders and everything out and prepare for her first period class. She knew Juvia didn't have this one with her but she did with Lucy, and just her luck it was honors geometry, first thing in the morning.

She was just about to close her locker when she heard the most obnoxious thing all morning. "You're in the way of my locker." She heard someone say in a cold tone, Erza turned to look over her shoulder and saw a tall blue haired guy with a strange mark on his face. _So he's one of them..._ Erza dealt with her fair share of mean people and she knew just how to handle them. "You can wait a few seconds for your turn." She snapped. He crossed his arms and looked her over, "Well clearly someone is a little slow, I take it you're a freshman. Well listen up I'm about to be late for my first period because you're slow ass was in the way." He shot back, Erza glared. He was really trying it. "Maybe if you weren't dumb enough to show up late then we wouldn't be having this issue." Jellal rolled his eyes, he glared at the thought that a freshman had to have a locker with the sophomores.

"Look who's talking, you're just as late as I am. Now move." He hissed, Erza fought the urge to pop him right in the jaw. She didn't need to be suspended, "Don't ever give me attitude like that again." She slammed her locker door shut and shoulder checked him before walking off. Jellal looked her up and down as she left, this was going to be a very interesting year.


	2. Coffee and Blood

_**Here's chapter two, hope you like. Please R n R**_

"In my way yet again, I see." The familiar voice made the scarlet haired girl instantly irritated and her eyebrow twitched. _Damnit it's the end of the day, I was so close to leaving peacefully._ She grabbed her homework binder and shoved it in her white backpack before slamming her locker door closed, she turned around and crossed her arms meeting the boy's gaze. It's been a few days since school has started and since she had encountered Jellal.

"Still an impatient ass I see." Jellal sighed at her blunt tone and looked her up and down. "And just who do you think you're talking to like that?" Erza took a couple of steps forward and looked up to meet his eyes more intently. "You, who else?" He looked down at her and glared. "Move." He snapped, she rolled her eyes and pushed him out of the way. She wasn't gonna waste anymore of her afternoon dealing with jerks.

...

" Cappuccino with three sugars please and thank you." Erza said with a smile. "Anything for you." The blonde replied, her hair was tied up into a ponytail and her apron was tied tightly around her slim waist. "So what's the occasion?" Lucy froze at the cappuccino maker when she heard that question. "Special occasion?" She said nervously. "Okay so what's with the makeup and push up bra hm?" Erza looked at the girl, she indeed had winged eyeliner on and a bit of bronzer, not to mention she was showing more cleavage than per usual. "Nothing I just felt good today, and push up bras had more support. Have you seen how big these things are?" Lucy raised her arms wide to show off her large chest, even with a coffee pot in one hand and a to go cup in another.

"Okay so it has nothing to do with Natsu Dragneel coming in for a bagel yesterday after school? Juvia chimed in with a new fresh batch of baked goods, she sorted them out on the display counter as she giggled. Lucy blushed and shook her head in denial. "Let me get one of those." Erza said, peering over the counter and eyeballing over the array of fresh pastries. "Strawberry cake Juvia presumes." Juvia said as she placed a slice of cake on a plate and handed it to the scarlet haired girl. "Thanks, and Lucy doesn't he have a girlfriend?" She said with her mouth full.

"Yeah a very horrible one." She mumbled as she finished preparing Erza's cappuccino and slid it over the counter, the red haired girl waited for the whip cream to settle before picking it up and walking back over to the couch she was sitting on. "Lisanna? She can be pretty bitchy but Juvia doesn't think she's that bad." The blue haired girl said as she whipped up an mocha latte and handed it to a waiting customer. "Have a good night!" She chimed before he smiled and walked out, leaving her a dollar tip.

"Lisanna is bitchy all the time, and she shoulder checked me in the hallway today!" Lucy said, crossing her arms. "It was probably an accident." Erza responded, as she handed her empty plate to Juvia. "The hallway was almost empty" Lucy said bluntly. "Well, did you say anything about it?" Lucy sighed and began to make a new pot of coffee. "No Erza I didn't."

"Lucy.." Juvia said softly while looking at the door to the cozy little cafe. The blonde didn't hear her, as she was distracted by talking to Erza and wiping the counter. "Lucy...love." Juvia continued, still keeping her eyes on that door. "What?" Lucy replied, slightly agitated. "Look who just came in!" Juvia said loudly, but not loud enough for the two boys to hear. "Jeez Juvia, just yell at them why don't ya." Erza said as she leaned over the counter and drank her coffee.

"Natsu you're paying for my coffee." Gray said as he ruffled a hand through his hair. "What do you mean?! I won that bet!" Natsu said loudly as he butted heads with Gray. "No you didn't! Everyone saw!" Gray shouted.

"Isn't he the most beautiful person you've ever seen?" Juvia said as she folded her hands to her chest as she looked at Gray. "Yeah...he is." Lucy whispered as she kept her eyes on Natsu, but quickly averted them to go back to what she was doing. "I heard that." Erza teased, Lucy blushed. "I don't have a chance, he already has her. And to him, she's everything." Lucy sighed. "Lisanna is a frigid bitch. Has been ever since junior high, you're so much better than her." Lucy smiled and turned around to go serve the upcoming customers. "I hope so."

"What can I get you guys." Lucy said to Natsu and Gray as they peered over the menu and gazed at the pastries. Natsu met the girl's eyes and smiled, "I'll take a regular hot coffee with two sugars please." Lucy typed that into the register, "And for your friend?" She leaned over a looked at Gray, who was checking out Juvia. She was too busy making coffees to notice. "Gray here will take an iced coffee with cream but no sugar." Natsu handed the blonde a ten, and as she grabbed it he winked at her. Lucy blushed slightly, and quickly looked down at the register to hide it. _Cute._ Natsu thought to himself.

"Thanks fire breath." Gray teased. Natsu raised an eyebrow, "Fire breath?" Gray walked over to the counter to wait for his coffee, "Yeah because you order hot coffee no matter the temperature." Juvia giggled and finished making the two beverages, "H-here you go." She said as she handed the dark haired boy the drinks, she tried her best not to stutter or blush. Too bad she failed at both. Gray looked down at her and smiled, he found her to be pretty attractive but also intense. "Thanks." He said bluntly as he grabbed them.

Gray handed the hot coffee to Natsu, "Damn that's shit hot." He said as he rubbed his now free hand against his thigh. "How can you not feel that?" He said as he saw Natsu gulp it as if it was nothing. "Oh please ice princess, can't take a little heat?" Natsu shot back. Juvia watched as both guys exited the coffee shop, bickering.

Natsu felt his phone vibrate and he took it out of his sweater pocket to see who it was. _Lisanna of course._ She was demanding where he was and complained on how he wasn't at her side all day. He sighed, _How annoying._ "I think I'm gonna end things with Lisanna." He said suddenly, Gray looked over at him. "About time, she's been rude and irritable over the past few months. Maybe school popularity got to her head." Natsu knew that he was right, him and Lisanna had been dating for a year now but he didn't feel right with her.

"I thought you two were gonna have a heart attack." Erza teased, she had been watching the whole transaction. "Not funny." Lucy snapped and crossed her arms. "Oh but it is." Lucy fixed herself a cup of coffee while she waited for more customers to come in. "He's into you, don't think I didn't see that wink." Erza pointed out, the blonde almost spit out her coffee. "No no, he was just being friendly." Lucy scratched her head and laughed. "Besides...he has her." She sighed. "Juvia can't help but agree with Erza." The blue haired girl said as she put a chocolate chip muffin in a small paper bag to take home later.

"Well it's getting late. I'm gonna head out." Erza swung her backpack over her shoulder, her goal was to get home by seven but she failed once she realized it was quarter past. "Juvia will see you at home later, it's our turn to close up." She tightened her ponytail and went back to work. Erza nodded and headed out.

Erza was peering down at her phone when she felt herself bump into something, "Oh sorry, my bad." She said as she looked up. "Tsk. Always in my way." Jellal said as he looked down at the red haired girl. _Just my luck_ Erza said in her mind. "Following me?" She said in a mocking tone. Jellal scoffed and raised her chin with his fingers, "It's a public sidewalk, I'm afraid it's just fate." Erza slapped his arm away, "Or just bad luck." Jellal sucked his teeth, "I'm shattered." He said sarcastically. "Good. Now out of my way." She bumped his shoulder like earlier and walked off without looking back. The blue haired boy shook his head as he smiled.

...

Erza bent over backwards to successfully dodge a severe damaging punch aimed straight as her head. She stood up straight and raised her gloves to her face, the opponent she was up against tonight was quick. The match had already been going on for five minutes and they both had the same level of damage, Titania had probably met her match.

"Oh Titania from the look on your face I would think you were scared!" The other fighter mocked, Erza rolled her eyes. Tonight she was fighting Kagura, a popular fighter that had crushed three opponents in the past few days. Erza dodge an array of quick jabs but failed to notice the punch that made sweet contact with her side, she cursed at the pain. She glanced down quickly and saw the blood, this fighter had nails in her glove. _Hopefully they aren't rusted._

Erza countered by getting a good shot at her liver, Kagura winced and the red head struck her face. Blood started spewing from the purple haired girl's nose and this only made her angrier. _I still haven't got hit in the face, I intend to keep it that way_ Erza focused on the girl's movements and caught on to the fact that Kagura would always step forward before delivering a full body punch. _I made the mistake of not observing her previous fights and learning her movements, oh well this will do._

Kagura stepped forward and this allowed Erza to dodge a devastating hit aimed at her head. Having the upper hand, she gave a hard blow to the other fighter's kidney and then delivered a round house kick to the girl's head. Knocking her down. Erza kicked the girl in her stomach repeatedly before finishing her off with a knockout punch to the face.

Erza walked out of the ring and took off her gloves, the sound of the crowd cheering for her really made her night. She winced as she felt her side throb, _Hard blow, should be better by morning._ She easily bandaged it up changed out of her shorts and loose tank top and into a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, and an open olive green jacket with only her black sports bra underneath. She let her long hair loose and after she collected her pay she zipped up her bag and swung it over her shoulder.

She decided to stay and watch the next fight as it was between a well skilled fighter and a champion. "Staying for the show?" She heard someone say behind her, she looked over her shoulder and recognized the mess of blonde hair. Sting Eucliffe, a very popular fighter who is widely known as the champion of the boy's division. Lightning fast and almost untouchable. "Isn't that obvious?" Erza remarked, Sting chuckled. "I guess so. By the way I've watched your fights and couldn't help but notice that you're moving up the ranks fast. You'll probably be up against m'lady soon." He said as he moved his eyes off of Erza and onto the match. "Who're you talking about?" Erza asked, without turning back. "Lady Minerva. She fought a few nights ago and completely demolished her opponent, killed her right in the ring. She has no mercy." Erza shrugged that part off, she wouldn't let someone get the best of her like that.

The match only lasted a total of four minutes, of course the champion known as Yosei had won the match against Meredy. Yosei was Japanese for 'fairy' which she claimed to be the queen of. Erza sighed, Yosei was known to be high of arrogance but that was expected of a champion. Yet, Erza couldn't wait to take her down.

"Well that was a bore." Sting fake yawned and held his hand up to his mouth. "I expected that pink haired girl to put in more of a fight. Yosei is annoying and I'm sick of her to say the least." Sting revealed. Erza raised an eyebrow, her and Sting weren't exactly the best of friends so why exactly is he telling her this as if she asked? "Well I'm headed back upstairs, you give me the impression that you carry yourself well for someone so young. I have a shred of respect for you." Sting shoved his hands in his pockets. "As if you're much older." Erza retorted. Sting turned his back and began walking, "You're right, I can be a bit hypocritical. It was a pleasure talking to you, Titania."

...


	3. Mishaps

"Yo Gray! Look at my drawing." Natsu snickered as he held up the piece of artwork. Gray furrowed his brow, examining the poor details, ugly sketch and misuse of color. "Natsu. That's ugly as hell, seriously what is that thing?" Gray asked, Natsu spit as he laughed loudly. "It's you." The dark haired boy felt a vain pop out his forehead. "What did you just say fire fag?"

Erza shook her head, class began five minutes ago and they were already going at it. _Imbeciles._ She thought. Artist emporium was a class that was chosen as a elective, it was a completely separate course from your usual art class. Art was never really the scarlet haired girl's favorite, but it was a nice break from academic courses. Besides, the teacher she had this year was very lenient and calm, who instructed his class well. This was part of the reason why she chose an extra art class to be apart of her schedule. Their assignment for the next three classes was to create an abstract painting, an easy start off assignment for the first class of the semester.

"So, Erza." Jellal said, the way the room was set up was that there were tables that could seat four people. Jellal sat across from Erza with Lucy on his left, he leaned back in his chair and held a multicolored flower made up of tape. _Another imbecile._ Erza knew that since this was an elective, there would be upperclassmen in this course as well. Which included the blue haired nuisence. "What kind of flowers would you bring me if I was admitted to the hospital?" He asked, staring at the artificial rose. The red head kept her gaze down, working on the drawing for her painting, "I don't know, what are you allergic to?" Lucy giggled to herself at that comment, Jellal fixed his posture and looked at the red head and then onto Lucy. "It's just her way of playing hard to get." Erza was about to counter that statement but stopped herself, due to the commotion coming from the front of the room.

"SETTLE DOWN! BOTH OF YOU!" Both Natsu and Gray flinched at the tone of the teacher's voice, they had never expected Reedus to blow up like that. "Geez. Do you think he was born with that stick up his ass?" Gray said in a low tone to Natsu with his hand covering his mouth at an angle. "Care to say that to the class Gray?" Reedus snapped. "No sir, my bad." The dark haired boy quivered as Reedus returned to what he was doing. "Nice going, popsicle prick." Natsu whispered as Gray rolled his eyes.

Lucy chuckled to herself as she watched the whole scene unfold in front of her. Erza raised an eyebrow, "What's so funny?" The blonde looked down and blushed, figuring that Erza knew and was just trying to mess with her. "Nothing." She shrugged. _Curses Erza._ "Jellal, you should really get started on your project. Class ends in ten." The scarlet haired girl instructed, her drawing was nearly finished and she was more than proud. Jellal rested his chin on his fist, "Relax. We have two more classes until the project is due, no need to hurry." Erza didn't look up from what she was working on, "Interested in failing? Be my guest." She shot back. "I appreciate the concern sweetheart." he smirked, the red head almost cringed at the nickname. "Sweetheart? Don't ever call me that." She looked straight at him, meeting his gaze to make sure he understood. "Suit yourself, honey." It took every ounce of self control Lucy had to not let out a soft giggle, _They're made for each other._ She said in her mind, she knew Erza would make her pay if she said anything of the sort aloud. Erza's eyebrow twitched and she snapped the pencil with the hand she held it in. Jellal watched as several pieces fell on the table's surface. "You okay there killer?" He teased, the red head let out a long breath and shot him a glare.

A light ring filled the students ears as the first bell announced that class was over.

"Alright please leave what you have worked on in the class folder located on that desk." Reedus said as he pointed to the table that stood in front of the class, no one was sitting there so that's where the supplies was located.

Erza got up from her chair and picked up her binder and art project, slowly making her way to the front of the class so she could drop off her work and leave. _Is school over yet?_ She moaned in her head, she was so tired from the night before that she didn't even notice that the student that was in front of her to the left pushed out their chair. Her foot got caught on the leg and she felt herself trip over. Luckily in a quick second someone wrapped their arm around her waist, catching her. She sucked her teeth as a hand pressed on her bandaged side.

"Careful now." She heard Jellal say from behind, he helped her stand straight but still had his arm wrapped around her. He raised an eyebrow as he felt the bandage and pulled his hand away. Erza couldn't even process what had just happened, _How could I have missed that?_ She mentally lectured herself for not watching where she was going. Jellal snapped her out of her thoughts, "Now I would ask if you're okay, but me an you both know I'm not talking about that fall." He said, averting his eyes to her side. He couldn't see the bandage due to her shirt but he knew it was there. Erza held her binder close to her midsection, "It's nothing." She said firmly.

"If it was nothing you wouldn't have it bandaged." He implied. The scarlet haired girl met his eyes, "You'd know better to mind your own business." She snapped before turning around and slamming her work on the front desk. Jellal sighed as he watched her walk away, he knew something was off.

...

"Wait what do you mean he caught you?" Lucy asked as she made Erza's usual cappuccino. Erza crossed her arms, "I tripped and he used his arm to catch me, worst part is he felt the bandage on my side." Lucy slid the coffee about two feet so the scarlet haired girl could grab it, she walked over to the pastry display counter. "What do you mean bandage?" She asked as she held up a cupcake with a strawberry on top of the cream with black tongs, "Yes? No?" She asked. Erza nodded and the blonde worker placed the pastry on a small plate and slid it next to the cappuccino. Erza lifted up her shirt halfway to reveal the injury, you could see the bruising around the bandage. "ooof." Lucy said as her face scrunched up. "Devastating hit, are you okay?" Erza dropped the shirt to cover herself, "Yes, the fighter had nails in one of her gloves. Cheap shot is what I'd like to call it. I still put her in her place." She said before sipping her coffee.

"Serves her right."

The bell on the door rang as someone came in, he scanned the room in hopes to find a certain blue haired bus girl. He ruffled a hand through his dark hair and walked over to the counter. "Looking for someone?" Lucy asked as she poured a cup of hot coffee for herself since the shop was having a slow day. Gray looked up at the ceiling and then back onto Lucy, unsure of how to put his words in order. He held out an algebra textbook to the blonde girl, "Yeah, is Juvia around? She left this in her desk, I figured...well she would need it for homework." He said, with hand through his hair. Lucy smiled, "That was very sweet of you Gray, we'll make sure she gets it." Gray nodded once, before turning around. "Would you care for a coffee or anything? I can make it on the house." She offered, Gray looked over his shoulder. "I appreciate the offer but I gotta get going." he waved his hand once before exiting the cafe.

"Well that was certainly a surprise." erza said, taking a bite out of her cupcake. "Yeah, not once have I seen Gray do anything of the sort. Maybe he has a soft spot for Juvia." Lucy smiled, she was happy to see that guys still did sweet things for girls in this day and age. "I'll be happy to give it back to Juvia when I get home, she's practically swamped with homework." Lucy nodded, she often found herself reading out of text books as she worked her shifts. "I'm glad she had the day off to catch up. What about you? Are you fighting tonight?" Erza finished off her cupcake before answering, "Nope, but I am up against Minerva tomorrow night if you care to join." She answered, Lucy pondered it. "Hm, yes. I'll call out, Juvia is working with Levy tomorrow so they can manage."

Erza beamed.

...

 ** _And there goes chapter three, a bit of a short chapter but it was a filler for eventful ones to come. (: Review! I like hearing from you._**


	4. Lady Minerva

Erza felt the loud music of Linkin Park booming in her ears, the match between the well known Titania and Lady Minerva had already begun.

 _I am a little bit of loneliness, a little bit of disregard_

 _Handful of complaints but I can't help the fact_

 _That everyone can see these scars_

 _I am what I want you to want, what I want you to feel_

She dodged the fist flying towards her face only to be greeted by Minerva's punch aiming at her injured side, she winced. _She's fast, too fast._ Minerva, the dark haired fighter had been moving up the ranks faster than Erza has. She was good, she was valuable, and many bet good money on the powerful fighter.

The scarlet haired teenager felt the warm fluid run down her side as she took the powerful hit, she knew there was no way her two lower ribs weren't cracked. Still, she focused on the older girl's movements and tried not to let her painful injuries throw off her game. She threw a couple of quick jabs and then a full body punch, Minerva tried swiftly dodging but Erza's punch still made sweet contact with her eye. "You're going to regret that Titania!" She yelled in a ragged and raspy voice, making her sound as if she was the brink of losing all sanity. From the look on her face, Erza almost believed she was.

Minerva threw several quick head shots in hopes to find an opening to completely take Erza out. The red head dodged and attacked with a hook to her opponent's liver, painful but that wasn't enough to end this match. Minerva began to get quick with her footwork and found an opening, she threw a powerful punch to Erza's injured side. She didn't stop there, she kept hitting that critical point with every chance she got. Watching more crimson fluid soaked up the bandage, and fracturing Erza's weak ribs even more. Minerva knew that she was older, stronger, faster, and more experienced in the world of fighting. She wasn't going to fall in front of all these people, especially not at the hands of someone as young as Erza. _I am going to finish her off within five minutes, she can leave her life in this ring._

Titania felt her side throb, she instantly regretted being so reckless during her fight with Kagura. If she wasn't, she wouldn't be in this position. Minerva scored a cross on Erza's lip, causing it to bleed. The scarlet haired fighter licked off the blood and instantly averted all of her attention on her opponent. _Minerva likes to play dirty, we'll see how long that lasts her._

Erza bent over backwards to dodge a punch aimed at her face, she stood up straight and managed to find an opening to make a powerful jab to Minerva's stomach. She quickened her footwork and prepared for any other attack that Minerva would try to throw at her, it was at this moment when Sting's words rang through her mind. _"She fought a few nights ago and completely demolished her opponent, killed her right in the ring."_

She smirked as she saw Minerva go in with a high roundhouse kick, she was trying to knock Erza down. _Nice attempt._ The fighter dodged, which caused Minerva to miss. Erza grabbed the girl's leg and pulled so Minerva would land on her back.

Titania wasn't a murderer, but she definitely took her revenge on the older girl. She kicked her with full force several times in the stomach, watching as small amounts of blood escaped her lips. After she stopped attacking Minerva's midsection, she kicked Minerva's face until she saw the crimson liquid ooze out from her nose. Erza squatted down knowing that Minerva had no fight left in her, she grabbed the girl by her hair. "I'm..going..to kill you." Blood spat out from her mouth as she said that. "I don't think so." Erza replied as she used maximum strength to smash Minerva's head, face first, down on the floor. Knocking her out.

Majority of the crowd cheered for her, Minerva's fans booed and yelled. Erza rolled her eyes at the hate and exited the ring, she held her side and the palm of her hand was instantly coated in blood. Her lip was swollen and every breath she took was instant pain to her ribs, she had won this one but it did take a toll on her. Luckily she could endure it and still go to school tomorrow.

"That was intense Erza. I thought she was gonna take you out." Lucy practically yelled, Erza looked at her and smiled. She was glad that the blonde could be there to support her. "Heh. I couldn't let someone like that take me down." She said as Lucy helped take off her gloves. "You're bleeding, bad." Erza let out a breath, which caused more pain to her injuries. "This is so dangerous, why do you do it?" Lucy asked. "The pay is pretty dope and it helps me blow off steam and relieve stress." The blonde raised an eyebrow at the girl's answer, she figured that underground fighting would add on to stress.

Erza peeled off her bloody bandaged and cleaned up her wounds, there were several very deep cuts that neared the curve of her waist. A large dark black and blue bruise covered a good portion of her side. She took out a sterile gauze from her bag and wrapped it around her waist to cover her injury, and then she covered than with an elastic bandage for support. She felt a slight feeling of relief after she finished. She changed into her dark grey Reebok sweats and kept her sports bra exposed underneath her olive green jacket. She tied her long hair up into a high messy bun with some front strands left out.

"Alright I'm beat...literally. I need to sleep for about thrity hours." Erza moaned. "Well too bad school starts in eight." Lucy said, damping on Erza's mood even more. "At least tomorrow is Friday and I can at least sleep through the day and enjoy my weekend." Erza said, instantly beaming at the thought of her and her bed having a forty-eight hour sleep marathon with Netflix and snacks. Lucy shrugged, "Well I guess so."

...

Erza could barely lift her head during English class, she rested her cheek on her fist and struggled to keep her eyes open. Her side throbbed and was in even more pain than the night before. Luckily this was the last class of the school day and Erza only needed to get through another half hour before her weekend of freedom. "Erza would you care to repeat that?" She snapped out of being dozed off when she heard her name being said, she looked up and every student's eyes were on her. _You gotta be kidding me._ She despised when teachers singled you out in front of the whole class. _Let a girl sleep in peace._

"Hm?" She hummed. This only made her English teacher more irritated. "Are you even listening to me?" The teacher asked, almost yelling at this point. Erza sighed, knowing that she was gonna get an automatic referral to the office regardless. "uh uh." She laughed mentally, knowing the teacher was practically fuming. "Automatic office referral. Since it's too late in the day for you to go down, you can gladly receive a two hour office detention on Monday, Erza." Erza rolled her eyes as the teacher walked over to her desk and began to type on her computer. _I bet she's real proud to make an example out of me._

Erza closed her eyes and fell asleep once more, only to be awoken by the sound of the bell.

 _Oh sweet music to my ears._

She quickly jumped up seat not paying attention to how much pain it was causing her, she was genuinely excited to be able to go home. She grabbed her stuff and quickly speed walked out of the classroom.

Juvia was at her locker and gestured for the scarlet haired girl to come over. "What is it, Juvia?" Erza asked politely. "Juvia found she's working tonight so please don't wait up for her." She said in third person. "Ah I see, well I'm stopping bye at the cafe after school so I'll meet you there." Juvia nodded in agreement before she returned to packing up her stuff for the weekend.

Erza made her way over to her locker to find Jellal crouched down and packing up his stuff from his bottom locker. She crossed her arms, "Well look who's in my way now." She teased. The blue haired student looked over his shoulder as he zippered his bag up. "You can wait five minutes." He shot back. Erza rolled her eyes, "Tsk."

Jellal slammed his locker door shut and stood up straight, and looked over at the scarlet haired girl who stood in front of him. "Care to tell me what happened to your lip?" He asked, determined to get answers this time. "Accidentally punched myself." She blurted, instantly regretting it. "Accidentally punched yourself huh?" He replied, not sounding the slightest bit of convinced. "On a serious note, you know if there something going on, you can tell me right?" He continued. Erza looked at his dark eyes, tempted to tell the boy the truth. But she knew she couldn't because of the potential outcome it could create. She broke her gaze she held on his eyes, "Let me get to my locker." She said as she looked at the floor, unsure of what to do or say.

He raised her chin with his fingers, making her look him in the eye once more. "There's something going on with you." He said firmly. Erza's eyes went wide, she wasn't sure if she was developing a soft spot for this guy or what. But she figured that if she got any closer she could be in trouble. Erza felt bad as she pushed his arm away, he moved so she could gain access to her locker. "I don't get why you keep lying." He said as he looked at her. She was about to tell him off, question why he would even care and that he should mind his business and leave her alone. But she didn't have the heart to, so she watched as he let out a harsh breath and walked off.

He was eventually going to find out what was happening to this girl, one way or another.

...

 _ **Ah and there's chapter four, hoped you liked. Please review. They mean a lot.**_


	5. A fighter's play

"You're lucky you didn't get your teeth knocked out." Juvia bluntly.

"Oh but I didn't."

It was the following Saturday morning and Juvia was working the morning shift. Erza stood in front of the counter and waited for her usual order, dressed in a pair of dark blue skinny jeans with an open olive green jacket with only a black sports bra underneath. Her long scarlet colored hair was out and loose, her bandages were exposed for practically anyone to see and she didn't care. She knew she wouldn't run into anyone from her school considering it was seven in the morning.

"Seven forty-seven." The blue haired cafe worker said before sliding over the hot cappuccino with a piece of strawberry cake on the side. Erza sighed and dug out the cash from her back pocket. "Sorry erzy, can't give you free orders all the time." The red head handed the girl a twenty, "I know I know."

Juvia instantly looked over at the door once she heard the little bell ring as someone entered the cafe. Erza didn't bother to pay attention, she just leaned on the counter and sipped her coffee while reading over a magazine. "How may Juvia help you?" She heard the blue haired cafe worker ask, she wondered why Juvia always spoke in the third person. "Regular hot coffee with three sugars please." Erza's head snapped up from her magazine and her eyes went wide once she heard the familiar voice. She turned her head to the side and the sight of light blue hair was a dead giveaway.

Jellal felt someone staring daggers into his side, he looked over and found the eyes of the scarlet haired girl he knew all too well. "Hello Erza." She shifted uncomfortably knowing her bandages were exposed. _Maybe I should stop dressing so skimpy._ She scolded herself in her mind. "What brings you here so early?" She asked. He handed Juvia a five dollar bill and picked up his coffee. "Preparing for early morning seances." She laughed slightly at the dark humor, ignoring the pain in her ribs. _Should be good by my next fight._

Jellal's eyes wondered down at Erza's exposed bandages, he knew raised an eyebrow. "Still not gonna tell me what happened huh?" He sipped his coffee and slid his other hand in the pocket of his dark sweatpants. Erza smiled and shook her head, "You'd ruin me." She said jokingly. "And how would I benefit from that?" Juvia observed the conversation, she leaned over on the counter and rested her chin on her opened hand. "Maybe you'd get some sort of pleasure from shattering my secrets." She said before sipping her coffee that was already pulled close to her lips.

"Hm." She watched as he turned around and began to leave the cafe. _Something I said?_ She said in her mind before turning around to finish her hot beverage and to face the blue haired cafe worker. She didn't bother to look when she heard the bell of the door opening. "What was that?" Juvia asked, taking her bagel out of the toaster and spreading some butter on it. "I'll pay for that later." Erza giggled, "Juvia there's really no point in telling him."

"He cares for you and yet you won't tell him the truth." She argued, eating her bagel as if it was going somewhere. "He doesn't care for me that much. And besides, what would even happen if I tell him? He'll keep his distance? Track the place down and show up with the feds? Don't think anyone else will be knowing about me anytime soon." Juvia took away Erza's empty cup and plate as well as her own. "You like him." She said with no emotion, as if it was obvious. Erza blushed and let out several coughs after she swallowed her own spit wrong. "What?!" She yelled. The blue haired girl turned to face her friend and broke it down, "You...like..him."

"Just like how you're into Gray?" Erza countered, arms crossed. Juvia lit up, "Exactly." Erza sighed, knowing she couldn't win with Juvia. "Well I don't like him that much." She admitted, the blue haired girl beamed. "But you still like him."

"You can stop pointing that out." Juvia giggled and mentally gave herself a high-five, she could make anyone admit anything. "Well I'm still not telling him." She she huffed. Juvia rolled her eyes. "Juvia didn't say you had to, but you should."

The scarlet haired let out a moan, "Juvia."

...

"Watch it." Lisanna snapped, shoulder checking the blonde haired girl roughly. Lucy caught her backpack before it completely fell from her shoulder, "Hey!" She hollered after the girl. The white haired girl stopped dead in her tracks in front of Heartfilia before turning around completely, "Care to repeat that?" She hissed. Lucy eye rolled at the girl, she wasn't scared of antics from rude people, especially not from Lisanna. "How about _you_ watch it?" She said with attitude. This only angered the other girl more, who was not used to being stood up to.

It was Monday afternoon and everyone either stood at their lockers or crowded themselves around the two girls, just waiting for a fight to break out. Lisanna stepped forward and looked down at the blonde, given she was about three inches taller. "So the little bitch thinks she's all tough now huh?" She spoke loudly, inches from Lucy's face. "Not really and your breath smells." The students around them snickered at Lucy's blunt comment, Lisanna's expression formed into a glare and she used all her strength to push Lucy onto the floor.

Erza rushed over to the scene and stood in front of her friend, facing the bully. She had been observing the whole thing.

"And who's this? You're little knight in shining armor?" Lisanna laughed, she was taller than both Lucy and Erza at five foot eight. Erza crossed her arms, "No but I won't hesitate to put my hands on you." The white haired girl rolled her eyes. "Confident, aren't you?" She scoffed and stepped forward, meeting the scarlet haired girl's eyes. "Don't think I don't know all about you." She whispered in the girl's ear. "You're lucky that I care about my sister." Erza remained stoned faced, as if she didn't know that she was Mira's sister. Of course she did.

"You don't put an ounce of fear in me." Erza snapped. Lisanna scoffed once more before turning around, "Watch yourself." She said over her shoulder. Erza turned to see Lucy standing up with her arms crossed, "Thank you Erza." She said, the red head nodded in response.

Erza walked down the hall to find her locker, fed up with girls with attitudes like Lisanna's. She grabbed her stuff, shoved it in her bag and slammed the locker door closed. She turned around abruptly to be face to face with the very guy she practically told off merely two days ago. "You really need to stop being in my way." He hissed. Erza zippered up her bag and swung it over her shoulder. "You seriously can't be mad about two days ago." She softened up, realizing her own insensitivity. "Look I'm sorry, its just that..it kind of erks me when people start to find out too much about me." She felt this weird pit in her stomach, she wasn't used to apologizing in that way.

Jellal raised an eyebrow, "I'm not mad at you at all, hypersensitivity isn't one of my character traits. Now move." He said in an irritated tone. Erza sucked her teeth and began to walk off. _Oh but being an asshole is one of em._

"By the way." Jellal said as he pulled out textbooks from his locker. Erza stopped dead in her tracks to hear what he had to say, he looked over his shoulder. "That was quite the show you put on today." He said, regarding her mini brawl with the white haired witch of the halls. Erza smiled without turning around, she began to make her way to the nearest exit. She had made the decision to tell him the truth about her when the time was right, but for now she had a detention to ditch and a championship to win.

...

 _ **Yay chapter five is finished, also another filler chapter. Kind of. Anyway review! (:**_


	6. Blood of a Challenger

"Hopefully this goes by relatively quick, I want to get to school early tomorrow to catch up on work." Erza said while she slightly hopped in place, shifting from what foot to another. She could feel her body being overwhelmed by nerves and adrenaline, in less than ten minutes she would be in the ring with Yosei. The champion of girl's division, also known as the queen of fairies. She tried distracting herself by thinking of other matters, like school for example.

"You could possibly get crippled in that ring and you're worried about showing up to school on time?" Lucy nagged while she raised her index finger in the air. Erza rolled her eyes, she was aware of the dangers of underground fighting ever since she started doing it. It wasn't the possible injuries that made her nervous, it was to take a fall in front of everyone. She had no desire to let Yosei damage her pride in front of a crowd like that. "Lucy. I'm not gonna let someone get the best of me like that."

"I would hope not."

The scarlet haired fighter adjusted her white gloves and pulled the hooded silk robe over her head. Her ten minutes was up and she started walking out towards the ring. "Don't get your face smashed Erzy!" Lucy said in an excited tone, she smiled knowing that was the blonde's way of saying 'good luck'. As she stood in the ring she watched as Yosei tare off robe roughly, throwing it into the nearest corner. She wore lavender colored shorts with a matching white and lavender sports bra, her light green hair was pulled back into a low bun.

Erza pulled off her own robe slowly, in a delicate manner. Letting it fall to her wrists and then onto the floor, pushing it aside gently with her foot. Sting's words echoed in her mind. _"I expected that pink haired girl to put in more of a fight. Yosei is annoying, and I'm sick of her to say the least."_ The scarlet haired girl smirked, she knew that Sting was watching them right at this very second. _Looks like you'll get your new champion, Sting._

Erza was dressed in basic short black shorts and a matching supportive sports bra, her long scarlet hair was only pulled back into a high ponytail that almost reached her waist. It was enough for her, she knew her hair wouldn't get in the way regardless if it was in a ponytail or braid. She pulled her gloves to her chin and watched as Yosei did the same, Erza felt the harsh stare that the older fighter was burning into her. Her eyes were cold and held no other emotions besides pride and anger, and the red head knew that this girl would fight dirty in order to get what she wanted.

Titania was the first to strike. Starting with a cross aimed at the other fighter's face, only missing it by just a thread. Yosei was quick on her feet and easily dodged the next set of punches. Unlike other fighters, she didn't immediately go for Scarlet's bandaged side. Instead she tried shooting for her liver and growled as she missed, she wanted to end this fight quickly. Yosei knew that Erza couldn't be more than seventeen years old, and she wasn't about to let someone that youthful take her place as champion.

Erza quickened her footwork and began to attack the other fighter with body shots, finally landing one in the girl's liver. Yosei's face shriveled up in pain and Erza took this chance to attack with a quick jab. She watched as the green haired girl's nose started to drip blood.

 _You want to see blood little girl?_ Yosei became more angry as her opponent came at her stronger, she wiped the blood off her face with her glove and began to attack more fiercely. She quickened her pace and struck several times at Erza's bandage side and fractured ribs. The scarlet haired girl winced in pain and felt her wounds re-opening and her ribs crack once more. _Is she really that threatened of me? So much that she decides to take an easy route and attack a weak point?_

Erza easily pushed her pain aside due to all the adrenaline that was coursing through her body, energizing her and making her body want to move. She tried striking Yosei with a kidney shot but her opponent swiftly dodged and punched her crimson covered side again. Erza stepped forward to dodge an sharp jab coming for her head, but Yosei predicted this and landed a powerful blow to Erza's face knocking her down.

 _Stay down bitch._

Erza's heart skipped a beat as she heard the countdown begin, this only motivated her to push herself up and once again raise her gloves to her chin. The scarlet haired girl met her opponent's angered eyes, she knew that the last thing Yosei wanted was to see her opponent get up.

The scarlet haired girl endured her throbbing side and aching ribs, she added a quick bounce to step, attacking quicker and hoping to end the match before fatigue took its toll on her. She landed a jab straight at Yosei's eye and watched as her head flung back, she smirked. Feeling as if the odds were in her favor. The music boomed in her ears, fueling her adrenaline. It was a dubstep song that Erza usually found herself working out to, she struck Yosei again with a body a shot and landed it as the song's only lyric rang in her ears.

 _ **Kick out the epic motherfucker.**_

Erza's head turned to the side roughly as Yosei's cross punch landed on her lip, the metallic taste of her own blood filled her mouth. She was done with this. The scarlet haired fighter waiting for an opening and stepped forward and used the same finishing move she used in her fight with Mira a little while back. She struck at Yosei's Celiac plexus with her powerful solar plexus punch, the unpredictable move knocked the wind out of the champion and Erza finished her off with a cross to the face.

The countdown began.

10..

9..

8..

Erza let out a very long breath in relief.

7..

6..5

4..

She watched as Yosei gasped for air, _Four more seconds._

3..

2..

1

The spokesman raised Titania's arm in the air, declaring her the new champion. Yosei coughed and slammed the floor hard with her bare fist, she tossed her gloves to the side struggled to stand up. Majority of the crowd cheered for Titania, chanting her name. The other fraction booed as they were loyal fans to the fallen champion.

Erza stepped down from the ring and was greeted by the cheering of her blonde friend. "Ouu I though she had you there, but she really got her ass handed to her!" The scarlet haired fighter took off her gloves and traded them to Lucy for her towel, she wiped off the sweat from her forehead and padded the blood from her lip. Then moving to cover her bleeding and bruised side.

Lucy and Erza rushed to the back where the scarlet haired girl changed into light gray joggers and released her hair from its tight ponytail, feeling a ping of relief. "What a bitch, aiming for you injuries like that." Lucy scoffed, crossing her arms. "Right? She wasn't the first to pull that shit either." Erza exclaimed as she peeled off her blood stained bandages and replacing them with new ones. The scarlet haired girl took out a tight black long sleeved shirt from her bag and pulled it over her sports bra, threw on some dark colored sneakers, and slung her black gym bag over her shoulder.

The scarlet haired girl retrieved her earnings and tossed the wad of cash into her gym bag, zipping it up. "Congratulations." He said bluntly, Erza thanked him before making her way out with Lucy. "Ugh I am tired." Erza moaned. "I bet." The scarlet haired girl let out a breath, she didn't know whether she craved a week in bed or a pile of junk food. She knew that both were bad, but she felt she deserved either one of them. "You should take the day off tomorrow and replenish." Lucy suggested. Erza felt that would be perfect, she could watch Netflix all day and still have her junk food, but she knew that priorities came first. "I wish. But four absences mean we fail for the term so I need to save those and plus I have work to catch up on." She argued. Lucy rolled her eyes, "You're gonna kill yourself one day, and not from boxing."

...

Erza could feel herself falling asleep as the art teacher explained the project again for those who missed last class, she caught herself again as her head rested in the palm of her hand with her elbow on the table. Her project could be easily done in twenty minutes but she knew her hand wasn't steady enough to paint it correctly.

"Late night?" She heard Jellal tease from directly in front of her. She let out a long yawn before answering him, she was so tired that she didn't even bother to look up. "Something like that." She spoke softly. Lucy fake coughed as she spoke, "Understatement of the year." Erza still didn't bother to look up. "Just like your so called friendship with Natsu." The blonde girl blushed and piped down, her gaze was glued to the painting she was working on. Jellal rolled his eyes, "You both are annoying." He said bluntly.

Erza didn't bother to retort that comment, instead she closed her eyes once more to embrace the pleasurable feeling of sleep.

She cursed as she heard the bell ring loudly.

The scarlet haired student stood up from her chair and gathered her things together. She began to make her way to the door until Jellal stood in front of her, she kept her gaze low. He raised an eyebrow when he caught a glimpse of Erza's busted lip. He raised her chin with his fingers to get a closer look but that only resulted in him getting his arm swatted away. "What happened to your face?" He asked in a harsh tone. _Damnit Jellal, not this again._

"Mind your business." She snapped in hopes to get him to leave her alone, he only stood there with his arms crossed with a blank expression on his face. She sighed. "What do you care anyway?" She said in a cold tone before shoulder checking him and walking off, he grabbed her wrist before it became out of reach. "I care about you."

She turned around and found him looking at her in almost a glare, she pulled her wrist to escape his grip. She knew there was no escaping this confrontation.

"Meet me at the usual cafe." She crossed her arms, gripping her biceps. "I'll tell you everything."

...

 ** _Chapter six is finally done, I'm confident I did good with this one. Please review! (:_**


	7. Exposure and Vulnerability

Erza paced around the coffee shop with her thumb and index finger holding her chin. She was dressed in black steel toed boots, dark blue skinny jeans, and lastly a black pullover sweatshirt. Her hair was out and untouched, falling past her hips. They had scheduled their cafe meeting for that Thursday afternoon, only three days after their encounter.

"Erza honey, stop pacing like that. You'll scare away the customers." It was Evergreen and Juvia's shift tonight, the light brunette pushed up her glasses and slightly leaned on the counter. Looking over the scarlet haired girl, "Can I get you some cake so you can sit yourself down?" Evergreen didn't like it when someone was pestering her like that, and Erza knew it. The cafe worker gestured for the scarlet haired girl to sit herself at seat that neared the back of the counter, making it so that Erza could practically see everything behind the register counter but people who were coming in couldn't immediately see her.

"Care to tell me why you're walking back and forth all over my floor?" She asked, with her arms crossed. Evergreen is the official owner of the cafe and often worked afternoon shifts to make sure her place was still intact and everyone was actually doing their job. Considering she often gave work to young teenagers trying to support themselves. Erza sighed, she had come fifteen minutes early to give herself time to escape if she wanted to. "I'm just waiting for someone, we have some homework to get done and a test to study for." Erza mentally slapped herself for using the basic schoolwork excuse. Evergreen wanted nothing to do with the underground business, but since she was dating Elfman who was siblings with the Demon Spawn, she couldn't really get away from it. Erza tried to keep her out of it as much as she could.

"Where's your books?" She nagged, the red head cut a small piece of her cake with the side of her fork. "He's bringing his own and a laptop, I could easily do my work online while he uses his binders." Erza thought she did good, she wasn't used to coming up with excuses on the spot but she felt that she was semi convincing. "It's a he?" Evergreen exclaimed in a high pitched voice like a typical mother. Erza took a large bite of her cake and nodded, she watched as Evergreen's face lit up. "My little scarlet is growing up so fast!" Erza smiled at Evergreen's excitement, despite her being only twenty-four she was the mother figure that Erza never had. Before Erza was living on her own with Juvia, she was living with Evergreen who always made sure she was cared for before tending to her own needs. Evergreen was the one who actually helped Erza and Juvia obtain their apartment, having it in her name while the two coughed up rent money.

Erza's head snapped up and peered over the counter when she heard the bell ring on the door, she saw the light blue hair and she came to realize her fifteen minutes ended a while ago. Evergreen turned her head to find what Erza was staring at, she looked the blue haired boy up and down, he was dressed in a gray long sleeved shirt and black joggers. The light brunette turned back to Erza, "He didn't bring any books, you don't have to lie to me. Have fun on your _date._ " She said with a wink. Erza mouthed a thank you right before Evergreen turned around to take care of things in the backroom. _Nice play Erza, nice play._

She let out a small breath and stood up from her chair and walked over to him, crossing her arms. "You're late." He replied to her in a blunt tone, "By nine minutes." She scoffed and began walking near the door, gesturing for him to follow.

Once she opened the door to get outside she instantly felt her nerves become at ease, whatever stress or fear she had from facing him vanished by being out in the open. The cool early fall breeze made her long scarlet locks dance in the wind, she turned to face the reason she showed up in the first place. "I suppose you have a lot of questions." She started to say as she began to walk down the semi busy street with him at her side. She glanced into the windows of shops, waiting for his response. "Just a couple."

"Shoot." She said while peering into a boutique she so desperately wanted to go in, she had cash on her but she was here for Jellal. Not herself. "Why do you show up every few days with new injuries?" Was his first question, Erza sighed. She would have to jump into it immediately, she didn't prepare a speech or a certain way to speak her words. She was going to wing it like she did everything else in her life.

She stopped walking and turned to look straight at him, "I"m an underground boxer." The four words came out smoothly, she said it quick and loud enough for only him to hear. _Didn't expect it to be that easy._ "You mean to tell me, that you spend a majority of you nights getting messed up?" He spoke, not sounding too convinced. _Messed up? I win most of my fights you know..._ She said in her mind. "I was gonna take a wild guess and say you were abused." He replied. "I live with a roommate and..." She trailed off. "Isn't underground fighting..illegal?" He asked. "I don't know...is water wet?"

"I guess that was a stupid question." They continued to walk down the street where several more stores and boutiques began to take light. Erza shook her head and said 'no' to a lady trying to sell her knock off designer scarves. "I started to get into the business when I was thirteen years old. Fighting was always an interest of mine considering it's a necessity to learn how to defend yourself. I developed a skill for it and began working out more and practicing to better my technique, I started to take a liking in the extra income so I continued." She started off, Jellal gave her his full attention. He never expected that someone like her was capable of being a part of such a cut throat and life risking business. "What about your parents? What happened before you started to support yourself?" He asked, knowing that it was bad enough for a thirteen year old to even take interest in such a thing. The environment of fighting and illegal activity was no place for children.

"My dad...I never met him. My mom is fending for herself, so I lived with the owner of that very cafe you keep going to. Evergreen always took care of me and made sure I was good, she even helped me get my apartment." She replied smiling, grateful for everything that Evergreen has done for her. "That's rough." Erza didn't think so, she thought that she was lucky for someone to step in for her like that. "Fast forwarding to two years later, at fifteen years old I stand as the Champion of the girl's division in this particular business. I live with my bestfriend and I have plenty of savings to support myself." She took pride in her independence, she knew that she was no ordinary fifteen year old girl.

Jellal looked at her with a blank expression. "Hm."

Erza felt something inside of her almost snap when she heard the sound. She looked at him in almost a glare, "I just told you all of that, and you don't have the courtesy to give me an actual response?" Her voice was almost at the level of shouting. "You had me come here and te-.." Her harsh words were cut off by him embracing her, the scarlet haired girl's eyes went wide as she hugged him back. "I'm kidding." He said in a soft tone in her ear. "You've had it rough." _Understatement of the day._ She thought.

They separated and Erza crossed her arms, gripping her biceps. "Thanks for listening and I'm sorry I kept pushing you away." Jellal ruffled a hand through his hair, "You can make it up to me buying me a coffee this weekend."

"Is this your way of asking me out?" Jellal raised her chin with his fingers and looked her in the eyes. "Damn right Scarlet."

...

"It's nice to see a new face carry that title." Erza heard Sting's voice ring in her ear from behind. She was watching the male fight between Gajeel the iron dragon and Cobra, she had come tonight just to kill some time before she went home to chill. "I guess so." She replied without looking back. "Just so you know, you pissed off a bunch of people by winning that fight. Everyone was betting big money on Yosei, not to mention her pride is tarnished and she's royally pissed off." Sting said, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "They'll get over it and I'll manage." Erza watched as Gajeel took the win for tonight and she began to take her leave. "I would hope so." Sting said after her.

The scarlet haired champion began to walk out, unaware of the two fighters that were watching her in the above section.

"That little bitch got me out of a lot of money." Yosei snapped as she peered out the window watching the fighter until she was no longer in sight. "She shattered my title as undefeated." Minerva hissed as she sat on the black leather couch with one leg crossed over the other, she raised her martini up to her lips and took a sip. Yosei tapped the window with her long silver acrylic nails that she got done recently. "We'll just have to make her aware of what the underground business is really capable of." Minerva picked her head up from resting on her fist. "And how do you suppose we'll do that?" She asked, her interest being sparked. "We'll corner her and show her what a true champion really is."

...

 _ **Chapter seven is done, I feel like I've been doing a good job with updating. I used to never update this consistently, I start school tomorrow so I will try to update as often. Depending.**_

 _ **Anyway, please review! They keep me smiling (:**_


	8. Meeting Extremes

Erza jiggled her keys through the door and practically fell through it and into her apartment, the weight of all four of her textbooks wasn't anything she couldn't handle but it was still excessive. _Damn this school and their slave driving._ She dropped her backpack on the floor next to the kitchen table before slouch walking into her room, Juvia wasn't home so she had the apartment to herself until she got off her shift. Erza dug through her draw and dug out a pair of black short shorts and an over sized black tee, she quickly changed but didn't bother to take off her thigh highs. She had a need for sleep, and _a lot_ of it.

The scarlet haired freshman student groaned loudly, "But I have homework." She plopped down on her living room couch and felt the temptation of playing the game of 'resting your eyes for who knows how long'. "These slave drivers." She hissed, she despised how they forced too much homework on students. "Don't they know I have a job? And hobbies?" She whined loudly.

It was Friday, the afternoon before her Saturday coffee date with Jellal and she was debating whether she should get herself in the ring tonight or rest up and actually be a functionable human being tomorrow. She tapped the home button on her phone and it read, four twenty-six. The day was still young but Erza felt herself wanting to crash early. Then she thought about those two assignments she needed to forward to her teachers by google docs at seven, she hadn't finished either of them. She closed her eyes and moaned even louder, not caring if anyone in the halls heard her. It was her apartment and she could yell as much as she wanted.

She gave up on trying to rest, the guilt of procrastinating was eating away at her. She peeked opened one eye first and stared at the sun ray's peering through her dark curtains, she opened the other one and rested her head on her hands with her elbows at her knees. She groaned...again, before snapping her head up and deciding she was going to finish her already late work. "This is gonna be a long three hours."

Erza peeked one eye open and started to regain consciousness as she heard the sound of keys jingling. She yawned and sat up, peering around the room. It was pitch black outside and the living room was being poorly illuminated by a flickering vanilla scented candle. She groaned knowing that if Juvia was already home from work then it must be later than Erza had anticipated. She crossed her legs and leaned her head back on the couch, looking up at the ceiling.

"Why are you sitting in the dark?" Juvia asked as took off her scarf and hung it up on the coat rack, she then placed her keys gently on the kitchen island. Erza payed attention the sound of metal making contact with wood. "Nothing I just fell asleep, you kind of woke me up but I'm glad you did." She said as she raised her arms up to stretch. "Juvia is very very sorry for waking you Erza!" She apologized as she flicked the light switch, having the light expose everything in the area. Erza stood up and began making her way into her bedroom, catching the sight of the time flashing on their microwave. Ten past ten it read. "It's fine Juvia really, I'm glad I'm up."

Erza took out the elastic that held her hair in a messy ponytail, letting the long scarlet colored locks flow freely. She changed into a pair of white yoga pants that had parts of it in mesh fabric, she paired it with a dark blue skin tight under armor long sleeved shirt. It was a comfy choice in her opinion, and if she needed to fight she had the perfect choice of clothing for it. She decided to wear her hair loose but still kept an elastic around her wrist just in case. Quickly throwing on some sneakers, she pushed the door open to exit her room, finding Juvia sprawled out on the couch watching whatever show on Netflix.

"Someone looks comfy."

Juvia didn't look up, she was so intent into what she was watching. "Going somewhere?"

Erza grabbed her black jacket and shoved her keys in an open pocket. "Yeah just heading out to see if anyone interesting is fighting tonight."

"Don't get your butt kicked."

The red head giggled and replied with a 'I won't' before heading out the door. She took her phone out of her pocket and unwrapped her black headphones and placed them in her ears. Playing the song, _'Breaking the Habit'_ by Linkin Park. She listened to the lyrics intently while making her way out the main door to her apartment.

 _Memories consume like opening the wounds_

 _I'm picking me apart again_

 _You all assume_

 _I'm safe here in my room_

 _Unless I try to start again_

 _I don't want to be the one the battles always choose._

She sighed as she shoved her hands in her pockets, as she listened to her music she observed her surroundings. She read the sign on a wide two story brick building. 'Marcus's boxing gym' was printed in big letters, it look run down and Erza had never been there before. She had usually trained in the gym that was made exclusively for underground fighting. She made a mental note to check out Marcus's.

Erza looked straight ahead and before she knew it she had arrived at her all too familiar destination. The guy at the door let her in without any precaution due to the fact that he knew exactly who she was. She walked over to where the crowd was and managed to stand at an upper level to be able to see over the wave of people, the cheering was loud and she knew that she had walked into a middle of a fight. She peered over to see who was competing and she gasped at the answer.

There in the ring stood Laxus, a popular fighter who was known for his victories from several underground businesses. But his competitor was no other than her classmate, Gray Fullbuster. And Gray was putting in one hell of a fight.

She watched, breathless as she saw him fight as if he has been doing it for years. She watched as he blocked several devastating punches and countered with a powerful cross followed by a hook to the liver. She saw the blood spew from Laxus's mouth and trail down his chin. A devastating blow to the face knocked out the blonde haired fighter, blood ran from his mouth and started to pool around on the floor. His medics rushed over and began to treat the fallen boxer. She watched as Gray walked out the ring to be greeted by an excited Natsu and...Jellal.

 _What in the actual hell?_

"Woah man that guy barely touched you." She heard Natsu say as he balled his fists, congratulating his victorious friend. Jellal stood there with a smirk on his face with his arms crossed as if he could've won the fight better.

Erza couldn't even process the events that were unfolding in front of her, she could practically hear and feel her own heartbeats. She let out a breath as question after question ran through her mind. _How did they find this place?_

 _How did they even know about this place?_

 _Why are they even fighting?_

 _When did they start fighting here?_

Erza pulled her hood over her head to attempt to cover her face, she didn't need them finding out she was here. She knew Jellal wouldn't say anything about her to anyone, but she didn't understand why him of all people would be in a place like this especially with Natsu and Gray. A million thoughts were going through her head at the moment, and she instantly felt relief washed over her as she watched them walk over to the back to get cleaned up. She flipped her hood to unveil her face and she watched as the next fight took place, it was between Gajeel and Elfman. _This should be good._ She thought as she witnessed fists start to fly.

"Nice night for fighting huh?" She heard a familiar voice say from behind, she turned to find Rogue. Rogue was a fighter that was undefeated like his best friend Sting, both were fast and untouchable but never fought each other. Causing Sting to hold on to his Ultimate Championship title. "I guess so." She replied, arms crossed and leaned up against the wall. Watching as Gajeel took the advantage in this fight, she found it impressive considering it was a free hand to hand combat. The only rules in this fight was no kicking or biting.

"So how does it feel? Being the best of the best." He asked. Erza never really thought about her position in this particular part of the business, yes it felt nice dominating over the female fighters of the area but she still didn't think much of it. "Ask me that again when I have dominated over the neighboring business and Sting Eucliffe." She answered with a smirk on her face, he didn't see it because she was facing the ring. "Pardon?" He asked, not sure whether she was messing with him or just suffering the effects of being punched in the head one too many times.

"You heard me correctly."

Rogue almost laughed but held it back, he was talking to a champion after all. "I haven't seen you win over a male fighter. How can you be so sure that you'll be victorious?" Erza looked over shoulder, the look on her face was the look that any fighter in/out of the ring has given at least once. The look that read, 'I'll do anything to win."

Without warning, Erza stood up straight and began to walk down the isle. Making her way to the ring, where Elfman was taken out of due to severe bleeding and where Gajeel stood; fired up and ready for more. The scarlet haired boxer ducked under the ropes and stood feet away from the iron dragon.

Rogue stood there in awe, hoping that her confidence wasn't putting her safety at risk. He mentally slapped himself at thinking of safety, she was the champion of the girl's division. She threw safety out a long time ago.

"Titania huh? An interesting opponent but should be no trouble to beat." Gajeel said as he wiped some blood off his lip, it appeared to be the only injury on his body. Erza tied up her hair into a high ponytail with her side bangs left out, mentally wishing she had her steel toe boots on. She could probably sneak in a kick to the shin considering the rules here didn't mean much as long as you put on a good show.

Erza brought her bare fists up to her chin and got into stance she watched Gajeel's movements, going over mental notes from watching him fight two times previously. She let him make the first move, starting with a jab aimed at her throat she blocked with her hand and went for a body shot. She managed to get his stomach but she knew it didn't cause much damaged due to his rock hard abs. She felt his hands grab her waist and she cursed as she felt herself being flipped over, she struggled with catching her breath as she landed on her back. _That's gonna fucking bruise._

She quickly got up and took her usual stance, attacking him with a cross and landing it. Her wrist began to ache from striking his metal like core earlier.

Gajeel flashed her a smile while he took the pain with pleasure, he could endure many blows without breaking a sweat. His whole body was covered in muscle, giving him the name 'Iron Dragon'

"I heard you eat nails for breakfast, is that true?" The scarlet haired girl asked as she ducked under a cross.

"Sweetheart that's baby food." He said in his raspy voice and managed to strike her jaw.

Erza spit out some blood to the side and decided to switch up her technique a bit and started creating different combinations to throw him off. As she hit him with body shots she managed to stick him in the neck, hearing him cough caused her body to be pumped up with adrenaline. She was getting her feel of this fight and tried out new things as if she was back in training.

Erza could tell that Gajeel was tiring himself out while trying to keep up with her great speed, he had just finished a few fights before so she knew this beast was bound to be worn out sooner or later. She pumped up the speed of her footwork and began to workout different combinations, giving these last few minutes everything she got.

"Tired yet dragon?" She asked as she struck him in the eye with a powerful jab. She was focusing on her style of fighting, hoping to throw him off by making him think he knew her moves. She threw another punch and he easily blocked with his hands, but made the mistake of dropping them from his face. She took this split second of an opening to land a cross to his lip, reopening the wound in which he received from his previous fight.

He attacked her head on, the red haired fighter jerked her head back as she took multiple blows to the head. She switched her footwork and threw her hands up for defense, hopping to side to evade more of his powerful hits.

 _For someone who just finished multiple fights, he sure is quick._ Erza said in her mind as barely evaded Gajeel's next hit, she stepped back but he still managed to deliver a powerful cross to the girl's mouth. Her head jerked to the side and her mouth guard flew out, landing a couple feet away from her. She began seeing double.

"Tch." Rogue watched as the fight went down, he knew Titania was crazy but he never guessed she would try and take Gajeel on, now look at her.

Erza blinked heavily twice, trying to make herself snap out of it. She coughed and leaned to the side, dodging a hit. She knew she needed to end this fast before she started loosing teeth. An idea popped in her head, it was risky but she had nothing left to loose at this point. She switched up her footwork and shifted her body, entering southpaw position. She dodged Gajeel's next couple of hits as a pattern and then stepped into his next one, throwing him off she delivered several body shots before landing a powerful uppercut.

Gajeel fell to his knees and kept himself up by gripping the ropes with one of his hands while the other was flat on the ground, holding him up. The countdown began and Erza could hear the crowd shouting, 'Titania.'

She wiped some sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand as she heard the countdown finish with Gajeel still struggling to get up. Her knuckles were bruised and bleeding bad, as well as her writs ached. Every part of her body throbbed. She tightened her ponytail before exiting the ring to meet back with Rogue. "I guess I underestimated you, Titania." He said with crossed arms. "That's one thing you should never do, especially with a champion."

"I guess that was foolish of me, but if you'll excuse me I'm going to head back to the VIP section where Sting is waiting with some other fighters." He stated before turning around and waving his hand lazily at her. She scoffed before crossing her arms, wondering if she was even getting paid for her victory over the dragon. Probably not because it wasn't even official.

 _I'm guessing it's time to head back._

She shrugged on her black jacket and let out a breath. She popped in her headphones once again and scrolled through her phone. She played a random Linkin Park song and shoved it back in the pocket of her coat.

Completely unaware of the vengeful eyes of a fallen champion that were watching her from a distance.

...

 ** _Andddd bam an update. Longest one I've written in this story so far._**

 ** _Anyway review!_**


	9. Prelude to Desolation

"We need to talk." He hissed as he slammed his fist on the locker, keeping his arm extended while he stood in front of her. Erza glared into his dark eyes as he stared intently back at her.

It was the following Monday, exactly three days after Erza had spotted them in the underground. She had said nothing of it to them considering it really wasn't any of her business. She huffed and crossed her arms, pressing into the locker behind with her back against it. "Care to explain why I saw you in the underground with Natsu and Gray?" Jellal looked at her for a couple of more seconds before answering, "That's important for right now." The scarlet haired girl fought the urge to spit at him for the tone in his voice. "If you have something of importance to say then say it. If not, get out of my way." She said, gripping her binder.

Jellal looked down at the floor and sighed before focusing his gaze back on her. "While walking out with Natsu and Gray, I overheard two women talking. They kept bring up the name Titania, at first i thought nothing of it until they mentioned a champion with scarlet colored hair." Erza furrowed her brow, she had been careful enough to make too many enemies in the business. She scanned her brain all the people she could've had a negative run in with. So far, several came up. "I'm guessing it was probably either Lady Minerva or Yosei."

"I don't know but I glanced over and couldn't get a good look at them, area was poorly lit. But if I had to make an estimate, I'm pretty sure they are planning to come after you." Erza held her chin with her index finger and thumb as she listened to Jellal's words, she wasn't scared of either one of them. She had beaten them before so what's one more round?

"Thank you for the warning but I'm pretty sure I can handle them." Jellal took his arm back and stepped out of the girl's way, the bell had already rung for last period meaning that both students were considered late. "I would assume so." He told her, she smiled admiring how Jellal didn't underestimate her. "We still on for tomorrow?" He asked, running a hand through his unruly blue hair. She playfully rolled her eyes and turned to walk to her last period class, "Well, I have nothing better to do."

...

Erza had her hands in the pockets of her burgundy ripped jeans she paired with an off the shoulder white knit sweater. She didn't bother dressing up, she found these clothes on the floor of Juvia's bedroom so she decided to "borrow" them. She wore her hair down, not bothering to style it. It was Tuesday afternoon and she was exhausted from her long seven hour of day of school where she sat in class in utter boredom. She would pass the time by looking at random objects in the room as if they were the most interesting things in the world.

She sighed as she skipped a song on her playlist, she was walking down the street making her way to the cafe. She could feel the days getting cooler as they passed, it was mid October now. The time of year where the days are warm but the nights were cool, it was one of her favorite months. October through January was the time of year Erza had preferred. The cool fall breeze caused strands of scarlet colored hair to fly in the wind, as she walked up to the coffee shop she took out her headphones and wrapped them around her phone. She could already see Juvia serving customers through the glass door.

"And to think I came early." Erza said while walking into the cafe and over to the couch where Jellal was sitting. He looked up at her as she took a seat beside him, having her elbow on the cushion with her head rested up against her hand. "I decided to come earlier to get started on homework." He replied in a bored tone. "Well now that I'm here, care to explain why I saw you on Friday night with Natsu and Gray?" She asked, she knew it was common for kids from her school to try and get into dangerous activity like that. But out of all people why them? Gray and Natsu were practically the class clowns.

Jellal sighed, as if he was being hesitant on telling her something. "Gray has some...financial issues. No matter how many jobs he works at he still doesn't have enough, therefore he decided to take things in a different direction. Natsu is just there for the fun of it he says." Erza was surprised to hear that, she thought people like Natsu and Gray had it all. _Guess you can never judge a book by it's cover._

"Enough about the underground." She replied, twisting a strand of her scarlet hair around with her finger. "I want to know more about you."

"More about me? And why's that?"

"Well you practically know almost everything about me, so now it's your turn." She said, smiling.

He looked into the girl's big brown eyes, almost not wanting to ruin her good mood with the vile story that was his past. "Well I guess if you want me to dampen your night then the least I can do is buy you a coffee."

"Medium cappuccino, three sugars." Erza replied excitedly, instantly feeling stupid for not bringing money with her in the first place.

"Let me guess...cappuccino with three sugars." Lucy said as she got a medium sized mug ready.

"You guessed it." He said, reaching for his wallet that was in his back pocket.

"Yeah she comes in and never fails to order the same thing." The blonde chuckled as she finished making Erza's beverage. She slid it over to Jellal and he handed her a five. "Oh please no. It's on the house." She smiled as she pushed his hand away and went back to work. "Thank you." He said, she nodded in response.

Jellal walked over to where the scarlet haired teenager was sitting, she was leaning back on the couch looking up at the ceiling. Gazing into the dim lights. "Cappuccino for the one and only." She heard him say, she perked her head up and let the scent of cream and cinnamon fill her noise. He handed her the warm cream colored mug as he took a seat and leaned back on the couch. "Now." She started, before taking a sip and instantly regretting it as she burned the tip of her tongue. She coughed, letting the hot fluid trickle down her throat, burning it. Jellal tried his best not to laugh at the girl. _Cute._ He said in his mind. She chuckled, trying her best to laugh it off without being too embarrassed.

"Wow that was stupid. Anyway, I think you owe me a sob story." Erza said. The blue haired teen rested his head on the top of the couch cushion, resting his eyes. "Wasn't the coffee enough?"

"No. Now spill."

"Alright. Anything for you." He still had his eyes closed, but he still managed a smirk.

Erza lightly sipped her coffee, licking off the whip cream. She watched as he fixed his sitting position, he leaned forward and had his hands crossed with his gaze fixed on the wooden coffee table in front of them. "Well Erza Scarlet, my childhood wasn't exactly the best but I have to admit I do come from a line of money." Erza intently stared at him, bracing herself for words to come. "Where did this money come from?"

Jellal looked at her a half smiled. "That's where this gets kind of shady. My father's a big time CEO for some construction company but he was always doing a little extra on the side, whether its gambling or importing drugs. It's always something to further sustain his lavish lifestyle. He became distant and violent towards people who appeared bothersome, my mother couldn't take it anymore as the years went on."

She set her half empty cappuccino mug on the coffee table. "Where's your mother..?" She hesitated before asking, not knowing whether it was disrespectful for her to ask or not. Jellal looked at the curious scarlet haired girl, he was literally telling this girl everything about him. _Damn, what is it about this girl that makes me want to spill all of my dirty secrets?_

"My mother...tried her best to keep me safe. My father would do everything he could to keep her silent about his drug habits, most nights of my childhood usually ended with me locked up in my room. Forced to listen to the screams of my abused mom no matter how much I covered my ears. Until one day she had enough, she threatened to leave him and call the police hoping to get him behind bars. He ended up taking her life that night, and I couldn't do anything about it." Erza rubbed her hand along his back as she listened to him reveal the dark secrets of his past.

"My father was arrested that night but due to his connections he only got fifteen years for all the charges placed against him, he'll be out when I'm twenty-three."

Erza didn't hesitate, she instantly wrapped his arms around him and pulled his body close to hers. Not caring if it pressed down on her bruised ribs, his eyes went wide and he returned the gesture. "Erza.." He started. "I'm..so sorry." She whispered. In her fifteen years of living, never has she heard anyone go through anything of the sort. Even though her life wasn't the best, she felt as if she'd been blessed with her position. _There's always __someone who has it worse._

He parted away from her and raised her chin with his lips. "Don't be treating me like damaged goods now." He said bluntly, she swatted his arm away. "Wouldn't even think about it."

"Good." He replied with a smirk.

Erza got up and straightened out her shirt, she's been here for almost two hours and her coffee was finished. She took a step towards the door and looked over her shoulder, "Walk me out?" Jellal smiled and got up from his comfortable couch position, "Anything for you."

The scarlet haired girl grabbed a thick lock of her hair and stroked it as she turned around, trying to cover her blush. _I wonder if you can suffer from permanent discoloration from blushing too_ _much._

Jellal opened the door for Erza and she stepped outside into the cool night air, she let out a breath and watched as she saw the cloud of cold escape her lips. _That time of year again._

"Are you cold?" The sound of Jellal's dull tone snapped her out of his thoughts. She looked at him in shock as she heard the question, he held his black hoodie towards her. "No no, trust me I'm fine." He rolled his eyes and draped it around her shoulders anyway. "You girls never know when to accept an offering." He stuffed his hands in the pocket of his jeans. "T-thank you." She replied, mentally slapping herself for acting a fool. "It's getting pretty late, I don't want to inconvenience you." She said as she looked up into the dark night sky. Due to the city lights, no stars were visible. "Want me to walk you home?" He asked, looking down at her.

Erza pondered it in her head for a quick second. _What if it's way out of his way? What if it will take him longer to return home himself? Do I really want him knowing where I live?_ "I wouldn't want you to go out of your way, besides I need to get some alone time anyway." She slid the jacket off one shoulder and caught in her hand, offering it to him. "Alright suit yourself, but keep the jacket. Wouldn't want you to be cold." With that Erza wrapped herself around in it once more and held it tightly looking down to the side. "Thank you, Jellal."

He raised her chin with his fingers and brought her face close to his. "No. Thank you for listening to me, princess."

Erza felt her cheeks heat up and she knew he caught sign of her blush. _P-princess?_ She wasn't the type to fall for the cute nicknames, but she knew that this boy was doing something to her. She focused so much on her workouts, boxing, and school; and she didn't really have the time to worry about anything else. But now, she didn't know what she felt for this boy.

Jellal chuckled slightly before turning around and walking off, waving his hand lazily. "Stay safe." He said with a smirk as he left her there, bewildered.

Erza turned around and began to walk back herself, trying to process everything that was going on. She knew that Jellal was hurting from past events in his life and he tried to cover it up by acting like he didn't care about anything. She knew this facade very well, because she was the master of it. It was almost like she saw a piece of herself in him, different similarities that she noticed. She was just grateful that he opened up to her and that she knew she could trust him, she knew she was safe when she was with him. And that was rare with someone like her.

Erza was so deep in listening to her own thoughts, that she failed to notice what was going on around her. She failed to notice the two pride-filled fallen fighters that were following her. It was only then, that she snapped her head up and with wide eyes, saw the punch that was aimed at her face. Her instincts made her duck and roll over to roughly dodge the surprise attack. Her cheek scraped against the curb before she jumped up. She grunted and dropped Jellal's sweater a few feet aside from her, getting into her usual fighting stance.

She met the eyes of her attackers and her heart pounded, the eyes that she knew all too well. The eyes of those who fell to her hands, stripped of their overgrown ego. Yosei's light green hair flowed slightly in the wind she she faced her opponent, she spoke in a loud and profound voice.

"Well hello Titania-darling, I wish to tie up loose ends."

...

 ** _Andddd there's chapter nine. I apologize for any grammar/spelling mistakes, I'm on the hunt for a beta reader! ~_**


	10. Darker Shade of Crimson

"Well hello Titania-darling, I wish to tie up loose ends."

The younger fighter glared as she shifted slightly from one foot to the other as she held her fists to her chin, protecting her face which still wasn't clear of any bruising. She intended not to take anymore damage. The sight of Yosei and Minerva thinking they were gonna try and take her down only made her adrenaline pump, fueling her blood lust. Erza knew within seconds a fight would be unraveling, and within a few minutes, someone will be on the ground. She had to act to attack fast and defend herself twice as hard.

Before Erza could think about her situation properly, she saw Minerva sprint straight at her. The wrathful expression on the older girl's face made Erza question this girl's sanity like she did in the ring, the events of that night played through her mind. She knew that this girl would show no mercy and she knew that this will be more intense than a regular underground boxing match. Street fights consisted of no rules, so basically anything goes. Erza had not been in too many street fights in fact, she often tried to avoid them, considering they made her absolutely no money and they were more dangerous and unpredictable.

The scarlet haired teenager brought her hands up to her face to defend herself, she bent over to the side to quickly dodge a punch that Minerva tried landing on her face. She countered with a quick jab and heard Minerva grunt as she landed a hook to the side of the girl's stomach. "You're going to regret that." She heard Minerva snap through gritted teeth. Erza sighed let out a quick breath, "You keep saying that and yet you do nothing about it."

"TITANIA!" Minerva hollered as she attacked forcefully, letting her rage take over her movements. Erza kept her hands up to block the fighter's powerful punches, but still peeked through to keep her sights on her. _She's too angry, if she doesn't stop then fatigue will get to her soon._ Minerva attacked with a cross, Erza dodged but fell into her opponent's left fist, busting her lip. Minvera chuckled and delivered a low kick to the back of Erza's leg, knocking her down. She rolled to the side at the last second, causing Minerva's closed fist to make sweet contact with the street. She pulled her hand back in pain and the red haired fighter used this opportunity to jump back to her feet.

Erza watched as the girl coughed and tried to catch her breath, all the while she kept her sight on Yosei who circled them and watched. Preparing to jump in on the action any minute now. _What is her play? Is she using Minerva to tire me out?_ Erza shifted her gaze from both fighters, careful not to focus on one for too long. She grunted and sucked her teeth as she felt Minerva land another low kick to her shin, she struggled to deal with the pain and keep her balance at the same time but still managed. This only aggravated Erza more, did these people really go to the extent to follow her and then attack her because they lost? As much as she was mad, she blamed herself for not being careful enough.

The scarlet haired girl had enough, she fired a few more powerful punches to Minerva. Some of them landing, and some of them not. She didn't care, she used all of her force and pushed Minerva to the side so she could get her hands on Yosei. _I am ending this._ Erza felt herself not even feeling anger anymore, she was not one to be messed with. Now what she was feeling was pure rage and as she sprinted closer to Yosei, she felt it intensify. "How..dare you!" She shouted as she came up to Yosei and started throwing hit after hit after hit.

Yosei swiftly defended most of the attacks coming from Erza, but still managed to take some damage. She ducked to the side to dodge a punch and responded to that with a jab to the girl's face and then a cross. "You got me out of a lot of money Titania!" She hissed in anger. Attacking the young teen again. "Do you know how many important people placed their bets on me? I was way more of relevance than you'll ever be!" Yosei went in for a roundhouse kick to try and finish the red head off. Erza roughly caught her by the ankle and pulled her leg so she would lose balance and fall, only to be greeted by a vengeful Minerva attacking her from behind. She quickly turned around and backed up, and began to fight with Minerva once more as Yosei regained strength.

"I was undefeated, that money was paying off my debt." She hissed, Erza honestly didn't care what their struggles were. They weren't exactly the best of people, and Erza knew they dabbled in far worse than underground fighting. They were snakes, untrustworthy, and obviously, couldn't handle not getting what they wanted. "Doesn't...matter..now does..it?" Erza said between pants as she hopped around her opponent quickly, attacking with quick but powerful punches. "I'm champion now, and you're... arrogance... is what made... you fall.. in the first place."

Erza backed up two steps to the side so she could get a clear view of both opponents without having to turn her back on the other, she witnessed Yosei get back on her feet and into fighting stance. She would have two underground fighters coming at her throat now, and she knew that fatigue and dehydration would get to her soon. _Find their critical points, hit them and finish this quick._ Erza tried to evaluate her situation in her mind, the sky was already covered in pitch black. The cold air was settling in, and all she wanted to do was end this extreme quarrel quickly. Yosei cocked her neck to the side to crack it before making her way up to Erza again, she jabbed at her quickly bringing her hand back to protect her face as she finished each punch.

Erza smirked as she stepped into an opening, grabbed the green haired girl by the collar of her thick gray denim jacket and pulled her to the side, roughly slamming her into the huge thin glass display window of a small music shop. The force of contact caused the glass to quickly crack and then shatter, Erza watched her success as if it was in slow motion. Yosei shielded her face with her arms as glass came crashing down on her, causing several deep and small cuts on her biceps, side, and thighs.

 _I hope this area isn't infested with security cameras._ Erza turned around to now face Minerva once more, figuring that last blow would buy her time from Yosei. "My bad about your friend. What do they say? Once trash always trash?" She teased at Minerva, she wasn't usually this sarcastic and bitchy but this was a special circumstance. "You speak of arrogance as if you have none yourself." Minerva brought her hands to her face and Erza watched as her lips formed into a sinister smile. The dark haired fighter attacked Erza first, causing her opponent to bring her hands over her face as a defense. She ducked to the side to dodge a hit and quickly got up into her proper stance.

Erza let out a breath, she was tired, she was bruised, and most importantly, she didn't want to waste any more of her night on these fighters. She already had her play with them while in the ring, she didn't need to face them on the streets close to her home. Erza took several steps back so there was a about a yard and a half between them. "Where are you going Titania? Afraid of my wrath?" Minerva asked loudly in he raspy tone. _Definitely not._ The scarlet haired girl started sprinting full force at her opponent, given the limited distance, she wouldn't have maximum strength but she could still manage. For a split second, Erza wrapped her arms around Minerva and took her down. Landing on top of the older girl, Erza had no mercy on her. She attacked with punch after punch after punch, all landing on her opponent's face. Erza's knees were pinning Minerva's arms down so she couldn't use them as a defense.

She watched as the crimson fluid began to spread from Minerva's nose, down to her lips and start to ooze out of the cut next to her eye. She stopped when she saw that Minerva was unresponsive, she glanced down at her knuckles. They were skinned and bruised, they didn't bother at all due to all the adrenaline. She sighed and stood up straight, she hadn't expected for the fight to go on that long. But she did have confidence she would win, considering that she had beaten them before. _Hm...I wonder how late it is._ She asked in her mind, considering she still had school tomorrow. _Why do the most annoying events happen right before school?_

Erza let out a deep sigh once more as she turned around at a fast pace, only to feel a strong and sharp pain enter the side of her stomach within seconds. She coughed and looked down, to find a hand covered in a bit of blood wrapped around a thick and long shard of glass. She looked up to face her attacker, it was no other than Yosei. Her light green hair was frizzy and basically all over the place, her lip was cut and bleeding and the look on her face was the exact same look she gave Erza when she had one the championship title. "So this is what stooped to? Landing an off guard blow at me instead of just attacking me face to face? You're a coward." Erza spat at her, only causing Yosei to twist the glass in deeper. "No I am not a coward, this was just more convenient." She hissed, pushing the glass in even deeper. Erza knew better than to swat her arm away or push her off, there was a pretty high chance it would cause the glass to move even more and possibly cut through more fatal areas.

Yosei then released her grip on the glass, but still left it inside the scarlet haired teenager. She used her full force and pushed Erza to the ground, causing her to land flat on her back. Almost knocking the wind out of her. She pulled her long green hair back tightly into a ponytail, gazing down at the coughing girl. She felt a ping of happiness at her success like a psychopath but she didn't care. Without even sparing a glance at the fallen Minerva, she quickly turned around and took her leave. Not wasting a second into getting the hell out of that area.

Erza took several breaths and mentally prepared herself before quickly sitting up, she gasped as the pain took over her stomach and crimson fluid began oozing out even faster. She used her arms and carefully dragged herself over to a brick wall to lean her back against it. _That bitch_

Erza knew that she was almost five minutes from home in walking distance, the hospital was about a half hour walking distance. _Fuck it._ She took off her...well Juvia's, loose white sweater off slowly and carefully. Pulling it over her head at dead speed and then sliding it off the part of glass that stuck out in her stomach. There was a very noticeable hole in the sweater, and she instantly felt bad for Juvia even though it wasn't her fault. Erza shivered slightly as the cool night air flowed against her bare skin, causing goosebumps. She was only in a basic black lace bra.

She braced herself mentally before expecting her wound, she knew better than to pull the glass out it was the only thing preventing further blood loss. She took the ripped sweater and tried bandaging around the shard of glass.

The red head pulled out her cell, it was dead. _How convenient..._ She knew Juvia was gonna be worried if she didn't come home tonight but there was nothing she could do, she had to get to a hospital and the closest one was a half hour walk away.

Erza stood up, surprised that she didn't feel that much pain. She slowly walked over to Minerva and checked her pockets to see if there was a phone on her, to her less fortune there was nothing. Erza cursed under her breath, she knew exactly where the hospital was and she knew she could get there before anything serious happened. She held her arm to her stomach, careful not to touch the glass, she used the building for support as she began to walk.

As she walked, she thought about hitching a ride. _No, I'd rather not risk being sacrificed or some shit._ She glanced around, seeing if anyone was walking the streets but to her luck, they were dead and empty. The only lights that were on were the working streetlights which poorly illuminated the area.

She should've been more careful and attentive, she shouldn't have lost focused on the fallen champion. Nonetheless she wasn't going to whine and beat herself up over it, she wasn't going to be vengeful and waste her time going after Yosei. This only gave her motivation to go back to training, and perfect her style even more.

After what felt like walking for an eternity, Erza finally saw the bright lights coming from the windows of the Hospital. She caught sight if the sign that was written in bright red letters, **Emergency.** She let out a sigh in relief and said a quick thank you prayer to the Lord on arriving there safely and not in worse condition. She slowly walked through the big automatic sliding doors and let herself collapse into an empty Hospital bed that was stationed to the side against the wall. All eyes fell onto her, the patients in the waiting room and the woman working at the front desk kept her gaze locked on Erza as she frantically picked up the phone.

Erza positioned herself so she was lying on her back with her arm pressed up against her abdomen above her gash. She was more so annoyed rather than scared or upset about her injuries, she just thought about getting back in the gym. She closed her eyes and let whatever happened next happen.

...

 _ **Anddd there you go, chapter 10. School sucks if you must know.**_


	11. How to Heal

It was about eleven minutes until the bell would ring for the last time that day, reminding everyone that last period classes was over and it was time for most students to take their leave for the night, before returning and starting the same cycle of the school schedule the next day. There sitting in the Dean's office, slouching in his chair was an irritated Natsu Dragneel.

"I am still having trouble comprehending the fact that you got away with wearing that kind of attire the whole school day!" Natsu tried his best not flinch at the loud tone of the Dean's voice, Makarov was below the standard of average height and yet was still very intimidating. The pink haired troubled student used both his index fingers and thumbs to pinch his baggy shirt and stretched it out, flattening it and erasing all wrinkles so the green image stood out clearly. "See old man? It's the Canadian flag symbol! Just colored differently." He released his grip on the shirt so it flattened out on his stomach, a vain began bulging out of the old Dean's forehead listened to the moronic statement.

"HOW STUPID DO YOU THINK I AM?" Makarov's yell elevated to a holler, Natsu's hands flared up over his face as he flinched. He had paired his bold shirt with his baggy dark colored school uniform jacket. But clearly that didn't cut it to his last period physics teacher. "YOU THINK YOU CAN SHOW UP HERE WITH MARIJUANA PLASTERED ALL OVER YOU SHIRT? NOT TO MENTION THAT YOU VERY CLEARLY VIOLATED THE DRESS CODE." Natsu sighed and stared at the several packets of paperwork smeared all over the large wooden desk. "Yeah yeah I know." Natsu ran a hand through his messy pink locks while Makarov continued to glare daggers into his chest, after one final huff the dean finally came to a decision.

"Six weeks of Saturday detentions."

"Come again?!"

"Another word and it's another Saturday."

Natsu cussed up a storm with every foul word in the book in his mind, he was expecting some sort of trouble for his actions but not to this extent. "Now get out of my office, brat." With that last comment, the pink haired student grabbed his bag and angrily rushed out of the office just as the bell loudly rang through his ears. He grunted before making his way down the hall to annoyingly complain to Gray about his eventful last twenty minutes.

Jellal tightened his one-handed grip on his backpack and quickly walked down the hallway that was filled with students who were eager to make their way home or attend after school activities, he stared forward with a dull expression on his face ignoring the loud hollering of girls greeting their bestfriends after being forty minutes apart. He rolled his eyes and it approached his locker, disappointed that his scarlet haired nuisance wasn't there. In fact, she didn't show up to fourth period. Which was the only class he shared with her.

The blue haired boy felt a tap on his shoulder and instantly turned around to find a familiar looking blue haired girl. "Sorry..Juvia didn't mean to startle you." He stared at her with a dull expression, instantly remembering the girl. _Coffee shop._ He watched her as she continued, "Juvia doesn't mean to be of inconvenience, but have you seen Erza? She hasn't come home last night or this morning." Juvia tightened her hold on her dark blue binder. Jellal's expression softened and his eyes widened a bit. _No...no she can't be gone._

"Are you sure she didn't just stay out with other friends last night?" He asked this out of hope, to see if the slim possibility would be correct. Juvia sighed, "No, she doesn't usually stay out at all. This is a first. Sorry for bothering you, Juvia will keep looking." She replied as she turned on her heel and began walking down the hall, he almost called out after her. But decided against it, considering that he didn't have anything else to say.

...

"Erza.."

"Erza..."

The scarlet haired girl heard name ring through her ears softly, it almost sounded like a whisper to her. She fluttered her eyes open slowly, instantly shielding them with the back of hand as the bright hospital light beamed down at her. She groaned and moved to sit up, only to be greeted by an overwhelming feeling of fatigue and some pain in her stomach.

"I'm not gonna ask how you're feeling, because the answer is obvious. I will however ask if there is someone you wish to contact." Erza turned her head to see who was speaking to her, she found a woman of older age with pink hair tied back into a bun. She dug her hand into the thin hospital blankets and gripped a small gray remote in her fingers, she pressed the button to adjust the bed to her back. Allowing her to sit up. "Yes there is, but my phone is dead." Erza said groggily as her wound gave off a feeling of her skin being stretched, she didn't like the feeling of stitches.

The pink haired doctor gritted her teeth, a vain began to rise through the skin of her forehead. "Well why would you be out by yourself with a dead phone?!" She yelled at the girl. "Your wound almost was a half inch away from your right artery! You could have bled to death." Erza sighed at the short temper of this woman, she knew that it was stupid of herself to be going off in the streets of a city without her cell phone but she didn't need to be lectured on it. Especially not in the condition she was in.

"Well for the time being, there is a phone you can use located at the front desk. Your clothes are in the closet to your left. I am Doctor Porlyusica if you need anything, which I hope you won't." Erza watched her with a raised eyebrow as she left and closed the room door behind her, she peered over to the light brown wooden closet that she was mentioning.

She bent over a bit just to see how much pain she was in, to her dismay she got her answer and it wasn't what she hoped for. She gritted her teeth as the pain died down, she cursed Yosei in her head and imagined ways she could murder the girl. She shook her head away from that kind of negativity, plotting against the fighter wasn't going to get her out of this predicament. The scarlet haired girl let out a deep breath as a method of bracing herself, after a quick five to ten seconds she abruptly sat up straight and shifted her legs over the hospital bed. Holding her breath as an attempt to hold in cries of pain, she managed to let her feet touch the floor and she stood up. Gripping the small table on the side of the bed for support.

 _The pain isn't so bad now that I'm standing._

She took small limp steps towards the small closet where her clothes were folded neatly, Juvia's torn and bloody sweater was there as well but was sealed in a large ziplock bag. She pulled out her clothes and tossed them lightly on the hospital bed, it was messy due to the twisted up blanket. She slowly untied her hospital gown and let it slip off her, leaving her completely bare. She glanced at herself in the mirror and saw every bruise, every scrape, and every scar that marked her body with past experiences. Each and every one of them had their own story on how they got there.

She began to clothe herself, starting with her undergarments and then slipping back on her jeans and socks. The sweater would be of no use considering it was torn and stained, she put it on herself anyway considering she had nothing else to cover her bra with. _Mental note, buy Juvia a new sweater_

She used the last remaining black hair tie on her wrist to tie her long hair up into a high ponytail, leaving her side bangs and a few other strands left loose. She threw on her sneakers and walked out the door. Bee lining it to the front office to make her phone call, passing by hospital several busy hospital rooms before finding the elevator. She pressed the button and waited, before the door opened in front of her.

The scarlet haired girl leaned back against the wall as she felt the small room shift down, causing a steep like feeling in her stomach. She used her finger to trace the outline of her stitches. _What a fool I was to let her rough me up like that_ She sighed, focusing straight as the elevator door opened, revealing the large lobby. The lights were dim and the sun was already going down, only a few people were in the area. Either waiting for someone or checking in to visit.

Erza walked up to the pudgy brunette who was typing up something fast on her desktop and talking rapidly on the phone, she decided to wait until the woman was finished speaking, not wanting to disturb her multitasking. The dark haired worker made eye contact with the teenager and quickly ended her conversation as if she was waiting for an excuse to hang up. "Something I can help you with?" She asked in a bubbly tone. Erza smiled, "Yes, I was hoping to be able to make a quick phone call?" The woman returned Erza's smile and pointed to a wired phone that was attached to a wall just a few feet away, "Just over there, first call is always free. Anymore after that is twenty-five cents a minute." Erza nodded once to show she understood before making her way over.

Erza thought about her decision for a minute and mentally scolded herself for wasting time being hesitant. She held the phone up to her ear and punched in the numbers, and waited as it rang. She hoped she would get an answer, only because she was pretty sure this was her only free phone call even if she got to talk or not. After several passing rings Erza was ready to hang up, until she finally heard what she wanted.

"..Hello?"

"Jellal!" Erza blushed in a bit of embarrassment as she realized she said that louder and more enthusiastically than intended.

"Erza? Where are you? Are you ok? Everyone has been looking for you." The boy asked, Erza smiled as she heard the tone in his voice sounded rather concerned.

"Jellal I'm okay, I stayed overnight at the hospital. For the most part everything's fine."

"Hopsital? What happened to you? Rough fight or what?"

"I suppose you could say that, anyway I was hoping if you wouldn't mind giving me a ride? I'll return the favor." She twirled the phone wire with her fingers.

"What a pain...I suppose."

Erza smiled at the tone of his voice, she could obviously tell he was joking. "Thank you."

"Yeah..be there in ten."

Erza used her ten minutes to get her things in order, she filled out the required paperwork to release herself from the hospital. Fumbling with some answers so they wouldn't get too suspicious about her personal life. She jotted down Evergreen as her legal guardian, considering that she really was. Evergreen made that arrangement so if Erza got into any trouble she wouldn't be thrown into foster care and raised in the system.

The scarlet haired girl leaned back in the waiting room chair, she now noticed how uncomfortable they really were. She wanted to sleep again, even though she slept her day away already. She saw Jellal walk in through the automatic opening doors. "Yo." She called to him as she stood up. He turned in her direction and walked over to her. "What happened last night? You were fine when I left you." Erza took out her ponytail and fluffed her hair to the side. "I'll explain once we get in the car."

 **...**

 _ **Didn't want to make this chapter too long because I figured I can make a cute one for after. I haaad to add in that part with Natsu considering I got dress coded earlier this week for ripped up jeans.**_


	12. Amenities

Erza adjusted Jellal's passenger seat so she could lean back a bit for comfort, his car was a medium sized Patriot Jeep and in her mind she couldn't imagine him owning anything else. She leaned her head back against the cushion and gazed out the window, the sun was almost completely set and the sky would soon be covered in a dark blanket of deep blue. She smiled to herself, she felt almost at ease now that she was with someone that she trusted.

Jellal closed the door to the driver's seat and started up the car, instantly flipping on the heat considering it was barely fifty degrees out. He glanced at the scarlet haired girl who still had her attention focused on the view of the sidewalk through the car window. The blood stain on her white sweater stuck out to almost everyone, and it was the first thing he noticed. "What happened after I..left you?" He paused right before the last two words, instantly having regrets. She turned her head over to face him, "I got into a fight." Her blunt tone made it sound as if the whole thing was barely anything.

"Erza..please." He looked over at her and met the dark eyes that complimented her hair color well. She sighed and watched as he shifted the car in drive and began to pull out of the parking space. "When I was walking home last night, Yosei decided show up with Minerva. At that point I knew she had been following me for a while and begin to know my whereabouts like some weirdo. She attacked me and I defeated Minerva but Yosei used some cheap moves and ended up getting away." Jellal glanced at her with a concerned look before focusing back on the road.

"How badly did she hurt you? How did you end up in the hospital?"

"I'll explain that later. Right now I'm just really hungry." She could feel and hear her stomach growling in agony, alerting her that it was time to get some food in her system.

"Alright, where to?"

Erza pondered this question for a quick minute, she knew Juvia was working today so she didn't really wanna go home. She didn't want to spend the theoretical money she had right now at the cafe. "Hm..I was thinking...your place?" She hesitated at first, but disregarded it. Going over someone's house didn't mean anything, right? Jellal chuckled and stole a quick glance at her and then faced the road. "Alright then."

...

Jellal pulled into the large circular driveway and parked right out front, behold in front of them was a beautiful large home with a deck that wrapped around the back of the house. It was no where near a mansion but it consisted of three floors and five bedrooms. Erza stepped out of the car and took in the sight, "This is where you live?" She asked, the structure was nice and she wouldn't mind staying here for the night.

"Well yeah, Ultear comes from money and Meredy and I help chip in with some of the bills." He swung one of his backpack straps over his shoulder and pulled out his keys from the pocket of his grey hoodie. Erza followed him up the small couple of stairs that ended the light brick walkway. Jellal opened the glass door in order to unlock the thick wooden one behind it, before he could slip his key in; the door already opened. "About time you returned home." A woman snapped at him. She opened the door wide to reveal herself and to see who else had arrived.

She looked Erza up and down and raised an eyebrow as she noticed the large rip and red stain on her white off the shoulder sweater. The scarlet haired girl took the opportunity to analyze the woman as well, she had long dark purple hair and was dressed in a light gray almost sheer strapless dress that had a large slit riding up to her upper thigh.

"Going somewhere?" Jellal inquired and Ultear focused her attention back on him.

"Why yes actually, I'm going to meet Meredy at an exclusive nightclub. We have some...business to take care of." She stepped out of the doorway, her white stiletto heel made a clack sound as it made contact with the brick. She quickly rubbed Jellal's shoulder with her free hand as she past him, she stopped in front of Erza. "I don't believe we have met."

Erza gripped her biceps. "No we haven't. I'm Erza, Jellal's friend."

"I see. Well feel free to use anything in the house, chill out and make yourself at home." Ultear replied as she smiled and made her way over to black Range Rover. She followed Jellal inside as she heard the car start.

"She probably won't be back tonight." Jellal said as he dropped his backpack down on the marble colored tile. Erza observed her surroundings, in front of her was a side view of the light wooden staircase that led to the top floor. The main floor had certain areas that were high ceiling and big windows that gave partial view of the wrap around deck. "Your place is nice." She breathed. He looked over his shoulder and replied with a "Thanks."

He walked over and plopped himself down on the couch and flipped on the flat screen T.V as background noise. "I can order out if you want something to eat. Just google a place that's near by." He offered, Erza smiled and sat beside him. "Thank you. Mind if I use your phone? Mine is kind of dead at the moment." Jellal reached into his back pocket and handed her his Iphone 6s, the top of the screen had two large horizontal cracks in it. "Now that I'm getting you food, I think I've earned your explanation about that fight."

The red head chuckled as she scrolled through local restaurants and fast food places, "I guess so."

He leaned back into the black couch and lowered the volume of the T.V by a tad, letting her know that he was all ears.

"It all started out with me approaching home as I stated earlier. After the fight began to escalate I ended up lunging Yosei into a glass display window. Big mistake in the long run considering she used the broken glass against me. After I took out Minerva she abandoned the scene, leaving me to walk to the hospital." Erza watched as his expression softened and she lifted up her ripped sweater to reveal the stitched wound. "She left me with this."

Jellal's eyes went wide as he observed the stitched up wound, a bandaged covered it but blood was already soaking through. She dropped her shirt to cover herself but it made no difference with the gaping hole. Before Erza could realize it, his arms were already around her, pulling her into an embrace. "I should've never left you. It's partially my fault, I knew they were after you and I still let you go off on your own." His words shocked her, she wasn't used to people caring for her as deeply as Jellal does. Whenever she was hurt she would keep it in and solve her problems on her own, never has she opened up this much to anyone. Besides Lucy and Juvia, but they didn't really count considering they knew each other since before they even walked.

Erza broke the embrace so she could hold Jellal's chin with her index finger and thumb, her other hand rested partially on his cheek. "No no no, don't ever think like that for a second. It was not your fault, if anything it's mine for not being careful enough." She wiped his cheek with her thumb even though no tears were coming out, she dropped her hands to her thighs. "I still let you leave on you own." Erza smiled and shook her head, "No I forced you to leave me. There was nothing you could've done, you couldn't have predicted this. It was not even close to being your fault."

He stared into her dark eyes and wondered how in only a couple of months of knowing this girl, he was already developing something for her. Normally he wouldn't care if someone came up to him to talk about a situation, his only priorities were his roommates, Meredy and Ultear. Until Erza came along.

"Um...do you need a shirt?" He asked as he rubbed a hand through his blue locks, Erza tried to hide her growing blush. _Why is that simple hair rubbing action always getting to me?_ She smiled, "That would be nice, thank you." He nodded once before getting up from the couch and making his way over to the stairs, "Just order what you want from a takeout place and ask them to deliver, I'll pay. Pick whatever show or movie you want, I don't mind."

Erza flipped through the channels while finding a place to order from, she wasn't used to special treatment like this. Especially not from a guy, _For once in your life, do not ruin a good thing._

"I didn't want to risk Meredy and Ultear scratching my eyes out for stealing their clothes so I just decided to grab you a hoodie. It ended up shrinking from excessive drying so you can just keep it if you want." Erza grasped the black garment in her hands and held it close, she wanted to take off Juvia's sweatshirt considering it was kind of thick and would be close to unbearable to wear under another sweater. "Um..I ended up finding a place but I wanted to wait until you came down to ask what you wanted." She handed him the phone. He scrolled through the menu.

"This place is the shit and it's not that expensive either. What were you considering?" He asked as he got the number ready. "Can't go wrong with chicken parmesan."

"Ah good choice." He dialed and walked over to the kitchen to make the call. Erza used this time to quickly pull off Juvia's sweater and to throw on the black hoodie, it was a bit baggy but it was comfortable and as a bonus, it smelled like him. _Is this what girls call...'crushing'?_ She wrapped up the white sweater into a bunch and placed it on the side of her, she picked up the remote and flipped through the channels. Stopping at the one that was playing the movie, 'The Matrix'.

 _Classic_

Jellal took a seat beside her a tossed his phone on the other side of the couch. "Seriously?" He asked dully in regards to her movie choice. "Seriously." She answered back, rubbing her hands together slowly, the sleeves of her sweater were longer than her arms so it kept her hands warm. Her long hair ran down her back side and her tips reached the couch. She looked at him, his focus was on the T.V. Watching how Neo was going make the decision to either go deeper into the rabbit hole or to forget any of the events happened.

She tapped his shoulder, her face was hot and she began to wonder if she would end up suffering from permanent discoloration. He looked over at her and she acted fast by grabbing the back of his neck with the palm of her hand and then crashing her lips on to his. He was stunned for a quick second, but he ended up closing his eyes anyway and returning the gesture, causing her to blush even deeper. Making her realize that even a champion needed some security and affection.

After several moments, Erza finally broke away and rested her forehead on his. Her heart was beating after realizing she experienced her first real kiss, she looked up at him to meet his onyx eyes. "Thank you Jellal, for everything."

...

 _ **Yess finally, a whole chapter dedicated to cute Jerza moments. To be honest, this is a romance I want.  
**_

 _ **Anyway, Review Review REVIEW.**_

 _ **And check out my most recent completed story, 'Don't let me go'**_

 _ **Thanks loves!**_


	13. Challenging a Scarlet

Erza stood before the large, run down, bricked building. The sky was gray and the air was moist and humid, it had just rained the day before and it was the first day of the whole gloomy week where the streets weren't flooded with heavy rain. The scarlet haired girl had her black gym bag slung over her shoulder, she had gotten her stitches removed only days prior. She was instructed to take it easy but she couldn't keep still. She walked in, the large double doors creaked loudly as she gently pushed them open. Above them was a sign that had the words scrawled on in chipped black print, **Marcus's Boxing Gym**

Dressed in maroon partly mesh yoga pants and a loose black tank, Erza gave off the impression that she was no more than the typical workout girl who seemed to not know her place. When she walked in most eyes immediately shifted towards her, she kept her gaze straight and ignored; making her way to the office in which she could speak to the owner.

"Six months."

Erza tossed a wad of cash onto the man's desk. He was a heavy built middle aged man with a dark beard, the belts on his wall showed off his skill in the world of fighting. He had his index finger and thumb on his chin, "Are you looking for a trainer?" He said in a rough voice. Erza shrugged, "I'm just looking to get back on my feet again."

The man grunted and took the cash, shoving it in the wooden draw of his desk. "We'll set you up with someone. Tell me, are you looking into taking this up as a profession or are you here just to learn a few things?" Erza raised an eyebrow at that question, she did have a goal but she wasn't looking for anything official. "I just want to blow off steam."

"Very well. Go on, you're now welcome to use any of the equipment in the gym."

Erza thanked him before tying up her long scarlet hair and exiting the office into the large open area. Her eyes wondered from the spacious octagon that was stationed in the middle of the room to the row of heavy bags in the back. She began to wrap up her hands with the black fabric before making her way over, as she set her bag down she could feel eyes burning craters in her back. She became more agitated and uncomfortable by the minute, she shrugged it off and began to hit up the heavy bag. Her foot work quickened more as the bag moved, she practiced her jabs and her crosses and then moving on to her hooks.

"Erza!" A loud familiar voice rang through the girl's ears and she immediately turned around to face whoever it was. A mess of pink hair came walking over, "Never thought I'd catch you here." He said excitedly. Gray stood beside him, calm, cool, and collected as always. "Hey Natsu." She said with a smile, a flashback of Gray fighting in the underground ring played through her mind.

"Seriously...I never knew you were into fighting. What brings you here?" He asked as he ran a hand through his pink locks. "Just here to work and improve." She stated with crossed arms.

"Well that's always good. If you want, I could...show you a few things." He said with a smirk, leaning in towards her face. She glared, he was acting like he had something to prove. "Natsu if you're looking for a fight, just ask."

He crossed and arms and chuckled, "Nah. I don't fight little girls."

Erza raised an eyebrow, little did he know that he was tempting the underground female champion. "One round with me in the ring. Just so I can shut your ass up for making ignorant assumptions." She smirked as she watched his expression form into a daring smile. "You're on scarlet."

Gray crossed his arms, clearly interested as to see how this would play out. Many of the guys in the gym stopped their training to see what was going on.

"Didn't that chick just walk in here today?"

"She'll know better than to mess with Natsu like that."

"Isn't that Titania?"

Gray had heard the murmurs come from behind him, the name 'Titania' was randomly said and it immediately made his heart skip a beat. Due to his underground activities he had heard conversations of a scarlet haired champion that goes by the name. It wasn't unusual for people to be aware of underground fighting or even be involved with it around these parts of the city. The real question was, was Erza Scarlet the female champion of the Magnolia underground? He watched the girl intently as she put on her white MMA gloves, this match would give him his answer.

Natsu through the first punch to get a feel of the girl's fighting style, if she even had one. Erza swiftly dodged and countered with a false jab, leading him into her right fist; knocking him backward several feet. _Geez, I didn't even use that much power._ She decided to tone it down a bit, she didn't need to be showing off. Especially where she could be so easily recognized.

Natsu got back into stance, his eyes were wide and he immediately regretted underestimating the fighter. Clearly she had some form of experience, he threw an array of punches. Erza shook her head, he was powerful she would give him that. But he he would frequently leave his sides open which gave her the opportunity to attack with body shots, preferably the liver.

"Oh come on Natsu, thought you were sizing me up!" She taunted as she moved her firsts in a circular motion, she would have him beat in the next couple minutes.

Natsu was beyond shocked, he was one of the best fighters in this place and yet here he was, having his ass handed to him by some chick. _Erza Scarlet is a different breed._

The pink haired boxer pumped up his footwork and attacked with quick powerful shots, he managed to get Erza in the nose and in the stomach. Causing her to back up near the ropes, she cursed loudly as she felt his fist make contact merely centimeters from her barely healing wound. She hopped from one foot to the other and attacked Natsu with an uppercut to the jaw, the same move she had used on Gajeel not too long ago. The pink haired boy tumbled backwards, landing on his back. Snickers and murmurs could be heard around the room and Erza smiled. _Nothing feels better than proving people wrong._

Gray smirked as he watched the girl duck under the ropes to exit the octagon, "Some skill you have there." He said, arms crossed and with a raised eyebrow. Erza looked up at him, she was breathing heavily. her flyways were popping out and sweat was beginning to slightly drip down her forehead. "Hard work pays off." She replied before turning around to gather her things. "Not as hard as fighting in the underground I suppose?"

She stopped dead in her tracks, she knew that Gray would find out her little secret sooner or later. She looked over her shoulder, "Wouldn't _you_ be the expert on that?" She replied as she picked up her gym bag, tossing her white gloves in there before swinging it over her shoulder. "I saw you the other night so don't try to deny it." She began to remove the black wrap from her hands.

Gray's expression softened slightly, "I wasn't going to."

"Anyway I was wondering if you wanted to you know..explore some of the...other businesses?"

Erza paused her unwrapping action and looked straight at him, this was her chance to finally get around to exploring some of the neighboring underground businesses. She had heard of a few being stationed in other major cities, only a train ride away. _Tempting..._

"Messing around in the other arenas sounds interesting, pick a night and I'll be happy tag along. Only on one condition." She said firmly.

"And that would be?"

She smirked, "I get to bring along a few reinforcements."

Gray shrugged, he planned on bringing Jellal and Natsu anyway. "Any way you want, Titania."

...

 _ **I'm backk**_

 _ **Homework and school have been killing my chances of updating. Here's a short chapter to move things along a bit.**_

 ** _~Its a build up for a long and interesting one to come ((:_**

 ** _Anyway please REVIEW REVIEW AND REVIEW!_**

 ** _Anddd check out my newly finished story, 'Don't let me go' if your a naruto fan! (:_**


	14. Underground Borderlands

"I'm still appalled that I let you drag me into this." Lucy sighed as she wrapped her arms around herself as she stood next to her two best friends in the harsh cold of early November. Instantly regretting her choice of clothes which were, light blue skin tight skinny jeans with a black cropped tank top, paired with an olive green jacket and high top vans. Her long blonde hair had grown past her hip, which at least kept her neck warm.

"Admit it, you miss it." Erza said, glancing at her quickly.

Lucy huffed. Instantly getting flashbacks of her own time in the ring, she didn't get as far as Erza did. She decided to let that passion go after getting her nose and collarbone broken, she was a pretty decent fighter while she had her time there; racking up over fifteen thousand dollars. "H-here they come!" Juvia said, her breath was visible through her words due to the drop in temperature over the past few weeks. The little blue haired girl had her hands stuffed in the pockets of her white puffy coat, her stomach felt like a bit once she caught sight of Gray.

Lucy shifted her focus on the group of guys that were heading their way, she blushed and looked down when she saw Natsu smile at her.

"Lucy aren't you cold with that choice of clothing?" Natsu teased when he saw her get up, she rolled her eyes and zippered up her jacket. Of course she was cold! "Nice to see you too, Natsu." He chuckled and removed his white plaid scarf from his neck,

"What are you-"

She stopped herself from speaking any further as she watched as he placed it over her head, adjusting it so that it would cover her neck completely and the little part of her chest that her jacket failed to protect. "Better?" he asked.

"T-thank you." She felt the heat rise up to her cheeks making her feel as if she didn't even need the scarf. "Looks way better on you than me." He said with a wink, just to see her blush again. _She's so adorable..._

"You sure you wanna do this?" Jellal asked as he placed his hand on the girl's soft cheek, she was cold to the touch. "Gotta get back out there sometime I guess." She tried answering as if she was calm, cool and collected. But in reality she was nervous, and worried that entering other businesses could get her into even worse trouble than before. He grabbed her waist and pulled her close into him, "I just don't want to see you get hurt...like last time."

Erza pulled herself out of his embrace and rested a hand on his cheek, "Hey, don't worry. I won't let what happened last time happen again." Her dark eyes met his, and she knew he wasn't entirely convinced. "You have my word." She gave him a slow peck on the lips before intertwining her hand with his. "Let's go I don't wanna miss this train." She chuckled.

...

Natsu followed closely behind Lucy so he could grab the seat next to her, instantly feeling a pit in his stomach and a strong sense of nausea. He has never done well with any sort of vehicle other than a car.

"You okay?" The blonde asked him as they took their seats, her eyes held the look of concern.

Gray chimed in, "He's fine. The dweeb just gets motion sickness when he's involved in almost any sort of transportation." Lucy saw that Natsu was almost completely out of it, due to the motherly instinct within her she gently set Natsu's head down in her lap. Stroking his wild light pink locks in effort to comfort him.

"Go..to hell...Gray.." Natsu muttered as he relished in Lucy's touch.

Erza took the window seat with Jellal sitting beside her, Lucy and Natsu directly in front of them, leaving Juvia and Gray alone in the booth behind them due to lack of space. She gazed out and took hold of her surroundings as the train began it's journey, the sun was near to being fully set and she observed the sky's mixture of colors. This was Erza's favorite time of day apart from the sunrise, she found something beautiful about the slow shift.

"Beautiful isn't it?" Jellal said quietly in her ear, the scarlet haired girl gazed at the sun going behind the mountains. She had forgotten about the amazing landscape areas outside the city had to offer. "It sure is."

...

"Oof." Natsu breathed as he saw one of the fighter's get thrown across the ring, feeling his opponent's wrath. It was brutal, the brawl has been going for five minutes already and both fighters had their fair share of bloodshed. Erza watched them intently, focusing on their movements, she was desperate to get back out there. "I'll be right back." She said loud enough for Natsu and Jellal to hear her over the loud audience.

The scarlet haired fighter walked over to the older man who was seated at a wooden stand, he seemed to be in his mid thirties and his beard went well with his chiseled chin and sharp jawline. He took a quick emotionless glance at her before looking down to finish whatever he was scribbling in his large three ring binder. "What can I do for you little girl?" He asked lazily, Erza glared at him even though she knew he wasn't really paying her any sort of attention. "I want the next fight." She said firmly, arms crossed over her black sports bra that was exposed by her opened black mini jacket. "This side of the business is for experience fighters only. I'm not setting you up to fail." He turned the page and began writing again. Erza felt her left eye twitch and she suddenly grabbed the guy by his shirt collar and made him stare directly into her dark eyes.

"Do I look like an experienced fighter to you?" She asked firmly. The man was shocked by this girl's outburst and he analyzed her more intently, recognizing the scarlet hair. He mentally sighed at himself when he came to the realization that he mistook a champion for a amateur. He lurched back to get out of her tight grasp, "Now I see..." She raised an eyebrow at his phrase. "Are you sure you want to mess with these fighters...I've seen what people here can do and even to me it's a little intense and far worse than Magnolia." He warned, Erza didn't want to hear it she just wanted to get in the ring. "I wouldn't be here if I wasn't prepared."

"Well in that case, I'll pit you against Seilah. She's one of the most vicious fighters here in Tartaros. If you get your ass kicked, don't say I didn't warn you, love." He replied with a smirk before flipping to the front of his binder to write her down for the next match. Erza heard the crowd cheer loudly and she quickly looked over, the dark haired fighter had won brutally. She glanced back at the man she just conversed with, he chuckled. "Better get going love, you're up next."

Erza picked up her black gym bag that she had left on the floor and she slung it over her shoulder, she raced to the back area where a small locker room was located. She quickly took off her jacket and thick gray sweatpants, which left her in black shorts which almost exposed her entire leg due to lack of length and a black sports bra. She tied her long scarlet hair up into a high ponytail. After she finished wrapping her wrists and putting on her gloves securely, she quickly made her way out into the ring, where her opponent had just entered.

"Where did Erza go? She said's she'd be right back." Jellal said as he glanced around and through the crowd to try and pick the scarlet haired girl out. He turned his head when he felt Natsu slap his arm. "What Natsu?" He asked, irritated. The pinkette pointed to the large fighting ring in the middle of the room, where two fighters were about to battle it out in a matter of seconds. Jellal gazed upon the red haired girl he knew all too well. _Scarlet...you're just full of surprises_

"KICK HER ASS ERZA!" Natsu hollered, she heard him and she flashed him a quick smile. He was confident now that his friend would take the win.

"My my, I didn't know that the champion of Magnolia's female line would show her face here." Erza was barely paying attention to her words, she was more focused on the incoming adrenaline. She began to shift from one foot to the other, she brought her gloves to her face and intent to find a critical point and take her opponent down.

Seilah was in fact at least five foot six, her large bust was barely supported by her dark purple sports bra that matched her hair; which was tied up into a high loose bun with two front strands hanging loose over her face. She threw the first punch, Erza ducked to the side to evade but ended up feeling the wrath of the fighter's left hook instead. Her head jerked back and she felt warm liquid drip from her nose, _Damnit I'm a little rusty_

Before she knew it the girl was throwing punches at an alarming speed, showing no mercy and no sign of fatigue or weakness. The scarlet haired girl managed to block and defend against the array of attacks before returning the favor. Due to her wearing MMA gloves, Erza caught the next punch slightly with her palm before quickly decking her opponent in the face, sending Seliah back a couple feet.

Erza turned and forcefully kicked the girl in her side, the dark haired fighter coughed and her face twisted in pain. Seilah lunged forward and attacked with everything she got, she was almost being made a fool of and Titania was going to feel her wrath. The scarlet haired girl felt the attacks in her stomach, and it almost made her nauseous. She jerked back evading the girl's uppercut by barely an inch, her fighting style was similar to Minerva's but was definitely far more advanced and dangerous.

Seilah went in for another punch, this time Erza step into it, throwing off her opponent. The scarlet haired girl struck the girl's throat with a hard jab, Seilah coughed and Erza used her strength to strike another body hit, right in the liver. Seilah coughed violently and fell, gripping her side in pain and punching the floor. The scarlet haired champion took down one of the most dangerous fighters in the underground fighting world of Tartaros, barely suffering from any significant injuries Titania was only getting started. Seilah was just a warm up.

Erza ducked under the ropes and was greeted by her cheering group of friends. "Erza you scared the shit out of me!" Lucy said as she hugged her victorious friend. "Took you long enough." Jellal joked arrogantly, rolled her eyes playfully but couldn't hold back her laugh. She wrapped her arms around him and puled him into a hug before giving him a long kiss on the lips.

"Get a room guys, damn." Gray said before getting told to 'shut the fuck up' by the charming blue haired Jellal.

"Soo what's next? Wanna explore the other neighboring businesses? it's astounding how close they all are." Natsu suggested, he was itching to get in the ring as well. He turned to Erza, waiting for approval.

"We can take off and explore in a little bit, I wanna get more familiar with the people here." She replied, she began to make her way back to the stand to sign up for another fight. She was all fired up now.

...

 _ **I know, longest update ever. I'm surprised I still have readers. Thank you for sticking by getting through these long awaited updates, I'm sorry!**_

 _ **ALSO! It's your fave writer's b-day today! So review, review, REVIEW! They make me smile! (:**_

 _ **Have a good day!**_


	15. Cat Fights

The fierce scarlet haired fighter licked off the blood that began oozing out of the small cut on her lip. She ducked under the ropes, ignoring the burning sensation in her stomach. She had just took her seventh win of the night and she still wasn't out of the game, she made her way to the stand where the guy sighed at the sight of her. "Again? You already took out seven of my best fighters and you expect to put me you down again? No. No one wants to fight you." He lectured, knowing that after watching Titania take down those fighters, there was no one available for her to beat. No one wanted to be humiliated like that.

"Move me up a class then." She demanded, even though she effortlessly took down several fighters. He flinched at her request.

"So needy." He ran a hand through his dark hair and as he sighed. He looked over at the ambitious underground fighter. Her sports bra bared a small tear at the upper left side, and her side was already forming a bruise. But that was it for her external injuries, he knew that this girl had something. A certain passion that he, himself, has not seen in anyone for a long time. Standing there at only the age of fifteen, Erza Scarlet had already been named champion of the female division of Magnolia and the new queen of fairies. Her strong endurance and stamina was the most striking thing about her, especially for someone so young.

"Alright kid..." He said lazily. Erza perked up, her interest now towards this man's next phrase.

"I like your fighting style, and I also like to see you beat people up. So I'm directing you to the place that's basically right next door, it's where the more skilled and experienced fighters are competing. That is where you'll find your more exquisite opponents and champions." He scribbled something down within seconds before handing her the small yellow piece of paper. It had the address, and he was right. It was literally the place next door, she looked up at him when she finished reading. "Thanks." She replied respectfully. The man shook his head. "No need to thank me. I just better not find out you got your faced smashed in." Erza smiled at him before turning to find her friends.

"Finally." Jellal said when he saw the scarlet haired fighter walk up to them. She handed him the yellow note and watched his dark eyes peer over it, "What is this?"

"Our next stop whenever you're ready." She was eager to have a real challenge, she had come so far from when she had first stepped in the ring at the age of thirteen. "Erza you already took several wins today, you sure you aren't pushing it?" Lucy asked with concern. She had known first handedly what exceeding your own limit can to do the body, especially after taking several poundings.

"No need to worry Lucy, I'm just getting started."

"If you lose, I'll beat you up myself." The blonde threatened.

Erza chuckled, "Believe me I know. By the way, where are the others?"

"Where do you think?" Jellal said in a sarcastic tone as he pointed to the ring, where a much heated fight was taking place. Erza noticed Juvia intently watching them, she playfully scoffed. She had to see this.

"That's it fire breath?" Gray taunted as he swiftly dodged Natsu's uppercut, he countered with a body shot, and landed it perfectly in the pinkette's stomach. "That was cheap, even for you idiot." Natsu snapped and he began to forcefully pound on his opponent, most of his attacks were landing. His alarming speed was no match for Gray's smooth attempts at dodging. The pinkette was fired up and he immediately received the upperhand in this match.

Erza watched them intently from a short distance, she noticed that two fighters were evenly matched. Natsu came in with an exceptional amount of energy, and Gray was trying to keep his cool. They complimented each other, their fighting skills would be more useful fighting alongside one another instead of against each other. The fight had been going on for more than five minutes now, it was only a matter of time before it was called off.

Gray's breath turned into panting, they've been going non stop for a while now and he knew that one of them would have to fold. He watched Natsu and realized that the idiot used most of his energy during the first five minutes, now he was suffering from the effects of fatigue. Gray through a jab, the pinkette dodged and landed right into Gray's right hand. The dark haired fighter smirked as he felt his fist make sweet contact with Natsu's face.

The pinkette crashed to the floor, blood spewing from his nose. he punched the floor, hard, yelling every curse word in the book. "What did you expect hot head? You used up a majority of your energy trying to take me down immediately, be calmer next time." Gray let out a breath, he ached all over, Natsu was a very skilled fighter he would give him that. He ducked under the ropes and was immediately greeted by Juvia, she was already red faced at the sight of a sweaty and shirtless Gray. "Y-you did so good! You had Juvia worried there for a minute." She looked down, trying to hide her blush, but Gray noticed it regardless. He used his thumb and index finger to raised her chin to look at him.

"Thanks beautiful." He said with a soft smile, she felt as if her cheeks were on fire and she broke out of his grasp, trying to cover her face with the palms of her hand. The sight of her caused Gray to burst out in laughter, she looked up at him. "What's so funny?" She said in almost a pout, Gray looked down at her, her large dark eyes almost memorized him. He didn't know what was happening, all he knew was that this girl gave him happiness and every time he was with her, he felt all his worries and his pain fade. _She's so beautiful_

"Okay kids, we ready to go or do you guys need a little bit more time?" Erza teased as she looked at the both of the. Juvia and Gray looked away from each other instantly, and waited for Erza to speak again. "I was thinking before we head back to the city, we could checkout the neighboring business that's next door. Literally the only thing dividing us is that large wall over there." She pointed, but no one bothered to look.

As soon as they walked out, they all felt the harsh greeting of the cool night air. They were approaching winter and the temperature had dropped from when they were outside earlier. "Come on it's right over here." Gray said over his shoulder, gripping the small yellow sheet in his hand. Erza looked around, taking in her surroundings. She had been feeling the burning sensation of someone staring at her ever since she stepped out a minute ago. Her eyes darted to the left and she found her answer, two large men were indeed eyeballing, but it wasn't her they were looking at. It was Lucy.

Erza stared intently at them as she walked, they looked away and whispered to each other when they noticed. _Something's not right_

"Hey, you okay?" She felt Jellal slightly elbow her arm. "Yeah I'm fine." She lied, but she didn't want anyone else worrying until she knew something for certain. Before she knew it she was already at the entrance, she was greeted by the man at the door who already knew who she was.

"Intimidating." Lucy breathed as she eyed everything, taking in her surroundings. The place was large with an occupied arena in the middle, just like any other underground fighting ring. But this place had several stories, each of them probably representing different levels of fighting, each one getting more intense as you ventured. "The more intense and skilled fighters are probably lounging up top then huh..." Natsu said, he pulled the blood soaked tissue from his nose.

Erza felt a light tap on her shoulder, she instantly turned around ready to attack whoever it was. "Excuse me, are you Erza Scarlet?" The man asked, he was dressed in a very well made business suit and he looked well rested. _He seems important_

Erza glared, "Yes. Why does this interest you?" Not only was she irritated by the sudden intrusion, but all her defensive instincts kicked in. She wasn't even in here for five minutes and she was already on the boss's list of interest.

Jellal turned around and immediately wrapped his arm around Erza's waist in a protective manner. "Everything alright?" He asked, he gave the large man a cold stare. "Forgive me for coming up to you so sudden. My name is Jura, and you need to come with me." His polite tone was persuasive, but anyone who didn't have fluff for brains wouldn't just go along with what he was requesting.

Jellal answered for her, "What for?"

"Our boss, and the owner of this branch of the business wishes to speak with you. She's right on the top floor, your friends will be provided with watchful eyes in case anyone causes any sort of trouble with them." Erza's eyes narrowed, she was never requested to speak with the boss of any underground business before. "Only if Jellal can attend as well." She wasn't about to go anywhere with anyone on her own.

"You sure?" Jellal whispered in her ear, Erza nodded slowly.

"Very well then." The business man answered before turning around, gesturing for them to follow. Erza was intent on knowing just exactly what their boss wanted from her.

...

 _ **Kind of a short chapter if I do say so myself. But this kind of a filler chapter so more to come, thank you for reading this far into the story! Also thank you for the birthday wishes!**_

 _ **Review review review! They keep me smiling. Now if you excuse me...I have two weeks of homework waiting to be done. ):**_


	16. Blood Ties

Erza felt the hairs on her neck begin to stick up, walking in to the large poorly illuminated office caused her defensive instincts to be on high alert. An eerie feeling in her stomach intensified with every step forward, her eyes darted from the ceiling to the gray tiled floor. Observing her surroundings, she tried searching for the easiest way out. "The boy needs to be escorted back to his friends." The smooth feminine voice spoke firmly at Jura, who looked over at female his superior. "Very well." Erza's dark eyes immediately made contact with Jellal's. She was panicking on the inside, not only was she a person of interest by the one in charge; but she would also have to deal with this on her own. "And why's that?" Erza asked loudly, without yet looking at whoever was giving such demands.

"We have important business to discuss, have a seat. Jura get him back to his friends." Irene ordered.

Erza let out a breath, but her expression softened. "It's alright Jellal, I got this." He raised an eyebrow as if she had fluff for brains. "Sweetheart there's no way I'm leaving you." The underground fighter smiled at the arrogance in his tone, "I'll be fine. This shouldn't take too long, I'll meet you guys once I'm finished. I still have matches to win." She winked to hopefully hide her growing anxiety. She would never show any sign of weakness, Jellal sighed and replied with, "Fine, but if something goes wrong-"

"It won't, see you in a bit." She cut him off before he finished his statement, she didn't want him angering these people with any sort of threat. He scoffed, "You better hope so, Scarlet." She watched as he walked out of the room with Jura following at his footsteps.

"Now that we're officially alone, please have a seat." Erza sighed and sat down, the familiarity of the voice soothed her, but she knew better. Looking forward, Erza eyes studied the older woman's features. Her long scarlet haired draped over her shoulders that were clothed in a black long sleeved dress, she wore a dark hat that was big enough to shield her eyes. "Why am I here?" The boxer spoke in a tone of disgust, her anxiety had long vanished and resentment was its replacement. She was aware of exactly who this woman was despite the fact that it's been several years since their last encounter.

"I have a proposition for you." The scarlet haired women stated as she folded her hands over her thin stack of documents lying on her desk. "I refuse." Erza stated quickly as she crossed her leg over the other and sat back in her seat, waiting for an opportunity to leave. "Oh but I know you'll be interested." The woman opened a side draw from her desk and pulled out a cream colored folder, sliding it across the desk into Erza's reach.

Erza opened it to reveal several documents, bank transfers of thousands of dollars made religiously every three months. The most recent one was made on the previous June, over five months late. Her dark eyes were exploring the contents quickly, pausing at the last name Heartfilia. "What is this?" Erza demanded without looking at her, she flipped through the folder to find a picture of her blonde best friend. She was walking into the cafe, her hair was tied up and she was wearing a coat. This was clearly taken merely days before and by someone who has been following her. "What kind of sick game are you playing. Is this an indirect attack on me? Targeting the people I care deeply about?" She tossed the folder back on the desk.

The older woman sighed and placed the folder carefully back in her draw. "No this isn't, quite frankly you are not who I am interested in. Jude Heartfilia is almost six months behind on payments, despite the fact that his debt is not nearly payed off. Maybe if we hold something that has sentimental value to him, we can persuade him to give what he owes us." Erza glared at the woman, no one was going to use her friends as leverage. She knew how twisted businesses like these can be, they wouldn't exactly treat Lucy with any form of kindness or respect. They would probably beat her to a bloody pulp as a message or warning to her father. Abruptly she stood up and slammed her palms on the table, eyeing the woman in front of her. "You expect me of all people to handle your dirty work? After years of abandonment you dare ask me to turn on one of my loved ones, are you out of your damn mind?" Erza snapped, but the older scarlet haired woman remained calm. "It wasn't personal, I had a business to run."

Erza scoffed, "You had a daughter to raise!"

"You seemed to have managed well."

The underground fighter couldn't stand the audacity of this woman, she was the very reason why Erza had to practically grow up on her own. The neglect is what caused Erza to leave at a young age, her birth mother never supplied her with food or an ounce of attention. She wasn't even treated as an afterthought she was viewed as a pest. As if her being born was such a burden to this woman, and it was. When she left at a young age she had nothing, no money and no one to turn to. By the grace of God, she came across Evergreen; who took her in short notice but cared for her and raised her right. Even supplying her with her own apartment. She was barely thirteen at this time, but risking her life fighting every other night is what kept her stable. It payed the bills and put food on the table for herself, with no help from her own birth mother. When Juvia moved in things became easier, but Erza was stilled robbed of a stable childhood.

"I'm not doing anything for you." Erza said coldly.

"You're close with Lucy Heartfilia, it should be no problem. I'll even reward you handsomely." Erza couldn't even look at her, no amount of anything could ever convince her to turn in one of her best friends. "I don't want your money."

The older woman sighed and removed her large hat, revealing her dark eyes and other features that matched her daughter's. She tossed it to the side of her desk and pinned her long dark scarlet hair up and out of her face with a decorative hair stick. She folded her hands up to her chin and rested her head on them. "Not even for your friend Gray Fullbuster? I'm aware of the large debt he's in, medical bills really do put a damper on things. Even when the doctors can't even guarantee a successful treatment. How would you feel if you couldn't afford a loved one's treatment? Wouldn't you want to help out a friend?" Erza couldn't even believe that this woman was trying to persuade her by using Devil's advocate. "I will not betray a friend to save another."

Erza just had about enough and she turned to leave until she heard a knock at the door. "Erza?" The familiar voice caused a wave of relief to fall upon her, the door opened and revealed the blue haired guy she knew all too well. "Are you okay? Its been almost an hour since I left you." He walked over and Erza knew this wasn't the place for him. "You shouldn't be here." She said.

"You're choice really is unfortunate Erza." The scarlet haired girl turned when she heard that statement, Irene had pulled out a beretta and she had it pointed straight at her daughter. "Is this really what is has come to?" Erza stated, she didn't fear death. But she never depicted dying at the hands of her own mother. Jellal was standing a couple of feet from Erza's side, his phone was in his pocket but he knew better than to call the police. They'd all be thrown in jail or worse. Erza took a step forward, "What're you gonna do? Shoot me?" She tested, everyone had their limits. She didn't know how far this woman was willing to go, but panicking and begging for mercy wasn't going to do her any good.

The older woman scoffed, "Of course not!"

In an instant a loud gunshot filled the room, it only took a swift movement from Irene to get it done. Erza was wide eyed, she couldn't properly process what was happening. Feelings of despair, shock, worry, and fear overwhelmed her. She rushed to her knees to where Jellal was laying, the bullet had made its way to the side of his stomach. The smell of blood was already filling her nostrils, tears were streaming rapidly down her cheeks as she saw him gasping and gripping his wound. It was severe and she didn't know if he would make it or not.

"This is what happens when I am defied, darling. Receiving your help wasn't a request, it was an order. You have two weeks to bring me my merchandise, or this is only the beginning." Irene carefully placed the handgun back in draw and sat back in her black office chair, she pulled out a pack of cigarettes and placed one between her lips. Lighting it up while watching the scene unfold in front of her.

"Erza." Jellal said softly he could feel her warm palm rest upon his cheek for a moment. "You're going to be okay, I'm not going to lose you." Her words calmed him and with her help he managed to slowly get on his feet. Erza supported him by draping his arm over her shoulders and having hers holding on to his ribs, he pressed on his wound with his spare hand. His dark blue sweater was already stained badly. "I'm getting you out of here." She said firmly as they walked quickly down the hall, her muscles were on fire from the workouts and bruises from her several matches throughout the night. She ignored the pain by focusing on the task before her, using her free hand she pulled out her cell phone from her back pocket and called the ambulance desperately waiting for a response. "Please stay with me." She said to Jellal, he gave her a weak smile. Erza's heart almost stopped beating when she finally heard a voice, "Yes hello? I need help, I'm in the Tartaros area please hurry." The operator repeatedly told her remain calm, but it wasn't doing any good. She wouldn't remain calm until she was absolutely sure that Jellal would be okay.

They finally made it to the door, "Erza, Jellal!" That sounded like Natsu, but Erza ignored him. She hurled the door open, the cold air entered her lungs and she rushed out into the empty streets. "What's going on?" Natsu ran outside to meet them. "What the hell happened?" Gray hollered as he rushed towards Erza and Jellal. "It was Irene, the owner of the business. S-she threatened me, its all my fault that he's like this." Erza could feel herself start to cry again. "Erza...it's not your fault." She heard Jellal say softly, he gritted his teeth to distract himself from the pain. The red head carefully pulled off her jacket and placed it over Jellal's wound using his hand to apply the pressure, she didn't care how cold it was despite being left in a thin white T-shirt.

At least Erza caught sight of flashing red lights and the sound of the alarm of the ambulance filled her ears, as soon as the truck stopped moving she raced over to them. The back doors opened and two medical nurses came rushing out with a stretcher. One of them was a woman, she was shorter than Erza and her dirty blonde hair was tied back tightly into a bun. She gestured for Erza to hand the patient over and immediately placed him down the stretcher and hooked up an IV, her and the other man carried him into the back. Erza ran over to the doors, desperately needing to get in. "Are you a close friend or family?" Erza answered quickly, "Yes." Before quickly entering the ambulance, she sat down near the doors so nurses could get their jobs done more easily.

Erza watched over Jellal, even though she was involved in a world of blood the sight him overwhelmed her. Her olive green jacket was almost completely soaked, and all she could think about was if he would make it or not. Memories of them together flashed through her mind, she remembered being so stubborn when they had first met. Her smartass remarks and occurrences where she had pushed him away lasted for weeks before she had finally let him in. She couldn't lose him, she needed him now more than ever.

...

Erza sat back in the hospital waiting room chair, her head was tilted back to the point where it was against the wall. She felt as if she'd been sitting there for several lifetimes. She wasn't fond of this "waiting game", having to sit there and stare into the abyss wondering if she was ever gonna see him again. She checked the time on her phone, he had been in surgery for almost two hours. "I can't believe this, I'm so sorry Erza." Lucy took the seat right next to her scarlet haired best friend. "What happened? I know there's sick and horrible people in the business, but why would someone randomly shoot someone they didn't even know without any sort of gain?" Erza looked at her with concern, there was so much that Lucy didn't know.

Erza didn't know how long they would have to wait here with no sort of update, it could take hours. "Lucy, I need to tell you exactly what happened."

...

 ** _And another awaited chapter. Hope you enjoyed!_**


	17. A Painful Choice

"Say something already." The scarlet haired girl pleaded as they had sat in silence for a solid five minutes, after a taking a half hour for Erza to thoroughly explain everything. Lucy let out a deep breath she had held in for a few seconds, she didn't expect to have this piled up on her at once, her life was already difficult enough as it is. She was fifteen, and she worked two jobs to sustain herself. Her shift at the cafe during the day and she was also occupied as a waitress for a resturant at night, she barely had the time to get her schoolwork done, obtaining over three hours of sleep was out of the question entirely. Her life was indeed a hard one, but it was the only way she would get into a good school with an amazing writing program, without the help of her father.

"I don't know what to say honestly, finding out that your mother is threatening you to sell me out because of what my father did...is just a lot." She crossed her arms, she really didn't need this stress at the moment. But she couldn't avoid this situation either, one of her friends is currently fighting for their life in a surgery room right at this very moment.

"We need to take that bitch down."

Erza's eyes went wide and she immediately turned her head on the girl, "Lucy, she's the head of the major branch of the business. She had weapons and people working under her. This isn't someone you want to directly cross, I'm covered in the blood of the guy I've grown to like. She'll kill you." Erza waved her hands up to show Lucy the blood that covered them, she had never seen Erza so frantic in her life. "But she's gonna keep coming after the people we care about, we have to do something." The scarlet haired girl sighed, for a moment she almost considered, "No Lucy, I know what she's done and I am aware of what her plans are. But we can't just take her out, a fight like this is far beyond my skill and I can't risk your life." Lucy opened her mouth to protest but was interrupted by one of the surgeons.

"Excuse me, but we have an update."

Erza didn't hesitate to walk over to her, leaving Lucy. She was thankful for an escape from the conversation, she was aware what Lucy was capable of, but she also was aware that Jellal was a great fighter too and they still ended up here. Taking out Irene is an obstacle that neither of them could handle, even if the whole group ambushed her at once it would still be too much of a risk. No, she would have to deal with this matter personally, alone.

"We managed to remove the bullet, it was a difficult task and a large amount of blood was lost." Erza felt her heart stop beating once she heard the older woman's words, the statement sounded bittersweet and she didn't know if Jellal would make a full recovery. _What does that mean?_ Within seconds Erza's mind was already being rushed with hundreds of outcomes.

"We have him stabilized and already set up in a room. You are welcome to see him now."

The scarlet haired girl released a deep sigh of a relief, Irene wasn't successful in completely stripping the person she currently cared most for. She may have been stripped of her childhood, loving parents, and a proper home, but she wasn't gonna lose her friends as well. She would fight with everything she had to save and protect the ones she loved, which is the main reason why she wouldn't follow along with Lucy's plan. Erza was aware of the combat skills that her blonde friend possessed, but she couldn't risk it. She seen first hand of what Irene can do, she plays dirty in order to get what she wants. She couldn't get Lucy more involved than she already was.

The scarlet haired girl walked into the hospital room, the nurse left her on her own but only for a limited amount of time. The door closed behind her and she approached the bed, he was hooked up to an IV and dressed in the usual patient gowns. The monitor read that he had a normal heart rate, but he was unconscious. Erza felt tears beginning to form in her eyes, she pulled up a chair next to his bedside and held his hand. She knew this was all her fault, if she hadn't influenced them to go to that stupid underground circuit then they wouldn't even be here. It was her own mother that had done this, and that is what really hit her.

The guilt she felt was overwhelming, she was supposed to be looking out for everyone and making sure things went smoothly. She was supposed to protect her loved ones and fight for them, not watch as they reach the brink of death. She didn't whether or not she could forgive herself for this or even if it was safe to continuing pursuing a relationship with Jellal. Because as long as Irene and the corrupted people who work for her are out there, her friends and the people she cared for will be in constant danger.

 _I need to isolate myself..._

She came to realization that this was really the only way to ensure her friends' safety, she would need to take down Irene on her own and take out her henchmen one by one. Only when it's all over will she be able to return to the comfort of her friends, only then will she able to enjoy happiness with them in peace. Only then will she able to love, but for now she only had one goal-to take out the very person who brought her in to the world.

The scarlet haired girl still held on to Jellal's hand, using her thumb to gently graze over his skin. Seeing him in this state was hard for her, she knew him to be arrogant, sarcastic and a great fighter with skills. Never would she thought to see him like this, and it really was her fault. "I heard somewhere that even if the person is in a sort of coma, they can still hear you." She smiled as she said that, despite the tears rapidly streaming down her face. "I-uh... I'm so relieved to see you alive..." Her expression softened and placed her other hand on top of the one that was holding his. "I-I'm so sorry.." She sobbed. "I really wish I could've prevented this, I wish I could go back and keep you away from all this. From this dark part of the business..." She stopped for a minute as countless sobs escaped her throat. Tears began to drip on the white, thin, hospital sheets.

"I-I'm sorry...Jellal I didn't mean to disappoint you." She kept crying and let go of his hand, she gripped the sheets firmly in anger. She had let him down, she allowed Irene to infiltrate her life like some kind of parasite. "I'm so sorry...but I know what I have to do to keep you and everyone else safe from this...I-I'm not gonna ruin this part of your life any longer."

She stood up and wiped away majority of her tears, she looked back at the blue haired guy that she had grown so close with. Whom she had made memories with, and had soon begin to fall in love with. She took a step closer and bent down to give him a gentle but slow kiss on his lips. "I-I don't expect you wait...for me, but I'll make sure you're safe and that nothing like this ever happens to you again." She whispered softly, about an inch above his lips before getting up and leaving the room. When she approached the door, she looked back at him one last time for a quick moment before leaving.

"Hey...how is he?" Gray walked up to her with Juvia at his side, Erza sighed. "He's stabalized but he's not awake yet, I'm sure he'll recover though." Gray smiled as well as the light blue haired girl next to him. "That's wonderful news." Juvia stated excitedly, "Juvia wanted to let you know Erza, that the cafe is giving Juvia the first shift so I'm going to be headed out. But Juvia will bring some food for everyone here tomorrow." Erza smiled at the blue haired girl's attitude, she was always so positive now. She remembered before, when Juvia fell into a deep depression after the death of her parents, and the only time she felt any sort of happiness was when it either snowed or rained. Erza was so glad to see how far she had come, which only motivated her further to keep doing what she had planned. "I'll see you at home then." She replied before Juvia made her way out.

"Are you okay Erza?" Gray asked her, Erza smiled at him, putting on the best facade she could. "I'm just tired that's all, I'm gonna head out now that I know he's gonna recover." She said quickly before turning to make a quick leave. She was indeed on a time limit, she needed to prepare and take Irene out in a matter of only a couple weeks. Once she exited the emergency room and made it outside, she pulled out her phone from her back pocket and dialed a number she thought she would never have to use.

"If this ain't about business you can gladly hang up." Was the first thing Erza heard come out of the familiar voice's mouth.

"Uhh Bisca...it's Erza Scarlet." She said firmly, the woman on the other end burst out laughing.

"Titania? Well that's someone you don't hear from everyday, it's been a while hasn't it? What can I do for you?" Her voice changed into a more upbeat and inviting tone, which relieved Erza and made her have hope she was actually getting somewhere. A while back when Erza was around thirteen and just getting started in the underground, she came across a girl that was only a couple of years older. Her family was highly trained in several types of combat and they were known as the outlet for a large variety of weapons in the black market. Erza was glad she could still come into contact with her, considering they often changed locations. "Well I'm looking to purchase some firearms and other weapons."

Bisca scoffed, "And what would a young girl like yourself need those for?" Erza rolled her eyes, "Not up for discussion, I have cash and lots of it. Tell me where you're located and I'll be there." Bisca sighed, normally she wouldn't handle business like this, she had a site located on the deep web and that's where she liked things to be handled. "Alright kid, I'm only helping you out just this once due to our history. I'm available this Sunday, the location is on the outskirts of Magnolia. Around the area of where we used to be trained together. Be there." She ordered before suddenly hanging up. Erza thought to herself for a minute and immediately remembered where she was talking about.

...

"Hey...you gotta wake up soon. We are all worried for you." Gray said as he sat down in the chair where Erza was previously, Jellal was still unconscious. Gray stood up and ruffled his own hair with his hand, he walked over to the small closet that stood against the wall next to the door. "Soo Juvia...She's...very much an enigma...hard to understand. Many times I catch her being fun and laughing and when I approach her...she just freezes. I don't know why but it is kinda strange, she's very intense too. Almost as if she was in love with me or something, but ya'know..." Gray paused and looked over at his unconscious friend, "She's overall pretty great...and I like being around her." Gray let go of the fake flower he was fiddling with on top of the closet and returned to his seat. "So...Erza huh...I've known her for a pretty long time and boy is she something...I wish my best of luck to you with that." Gray failed to notice the heart rate monitor speed up, Jellal's fingers twitched and eventually gripped the sheets and blanket that covered him.

Within a few moments his eyes opened wide, the first thing coming to sight was bright lights. Memories flooded through his mind and his head began to throb, he also remembered hearing someone talking to him while he was out...a woman...crying. _It sounded like Erza_

He sat up slowly and gripped his head..."Woah woah woah...take it easy." Gray instructed as he stood up and tried to support his injured friend with his arms, it wasn't needed though. Jellal covered his bandaged wound with his hand lightly and looked over at Gray..."Where's Erza?"

...

 _ **Yes yes yes...finally some ideas came to me. I guess writing other stories gives you ideas for work in progresses...if that makes sense. Anywayyyy here's part 17 and I hope you enjoyed. I have some other works too, including: Saving Chloe Bourgeois, if you are into Miraculous Ladybug. And a couple of others too on my page. Anyway...  
**_

 _ **REVIEW REVIEW AND REVIEW I SAY...**_


	18. Ice and Blood

After a long evening shift from the local cafe, Juvia let her wavy sky blue hair loose from the bondage of a high messy ponytail. She let it fall over her shoulders, making it look even more voluminous than it already was. She stripped off her pink t-shirt that read the cafe's name on the back: Roasted Beans. She thought the place's name was adorable while Lucy thought it was ridiculous. She stuffed her shirt along with her apron and smartphone in a off white duffel bag, leaving her in a form fitting black tank top and dark blue skinny jeans that were way tighter than needed be.

The sun was already close to setting and would be dark soon, the blue haired cafe employee always felt intimidated by walking home alone at night despite doing it rather often. Usually her and Lucy would finish a shift and they could start a route together, only today Lucy took the morning. She slung her bag over her shoulder and left the cafe through the back entrance. The cold winter air felt like a smack in the face when Juvia walked out, she regretted not bringing any sort of outer wear with her, she disregarded it considering the temperature wasn't that unbearable. The walk home was only about twenty minutes, maybe she could beat Erza by being the first to arrive. _I wonder where she went off to earlier..._

Juvia pondered over the fact that her best friend left early in the morning with no warning or anything, she had caught the scarlet haired girl at the door just in time, only to have the overused excuse of "I have something school related to take care of, be back soon". Juvia knew better, Erza had a knack for getting herself in dangerous situations, she's been doing it her whole life. The blue haired girl smiled as she remembered the time a girl named Meredy threatened her, she was a cage fighter in the underground who felt on top of the world after obtaining a few wins. Erza quickly put her in her place by old school slapping her.

Juvia stepped down from the sidewalk curb to cross the street, stopping dead in her tracks as a speeding car came flying down the road. The car beeped at her and Juvia's hair flew over her face, she let out a breath. Living in the city always provided a near death experience, something she would never get used to. She crossed the street and continued her route home, having an uneasy feeling in her stomach. Almost as if someone was watching her, she glanced over her shoulder to find two grown men leaning against a store window, looking at her. As soon as they made eye contact, both men turned away. Juvia picked up her pace, she wasn't Lucy or Erza, she didn't have any real experience with fighting or defense which is mainly why she tried her best to avoid those types of situations.

She knew she would be approaching her destination soon, her apartment was only about a ten minute walk away. She passed by various shops and bakeries, window shopping and debating whether or not she should walk in and grab a pastry or something. She convinced herself not to, she already consumed enough sugar today than needed. Her thoughts drifted and a familiar face popped into her mind, Gray, she felt her face grow hot by merely thinking of him. She had requested for him to come over in a bit to study for a math exam that was coming up, he didn't really give her a reliable answer so she wondered if he would make it. Her mind then made her think of Jellal and Erza and how the two have became close over the course of several months and how things dramatically escalated in both their worlds, things did take a turn for the worse and she had a gut feeling that things were not gonna get better for a while.

Juvia grabbed her apartment keys out of her bag when she approached her home, it was a three story white building with a well kept lawn under the layer of snow. The landlord who inhabited the first story apartment had to leave town to care of business, and with the third story apartment being empty, Juvia and Erza would be the only two living there for a few days. A willow tree stood to the far left, blocking a partial view of the street from one of the first floor's windows. Juvia gulped as the feeling in her stomach came alive again, kind of like a deep pit, with fire. She jiggled the keys into the keyhole of the entrance door, but froze when she heard a man catcall her from behind by whistling.

"Now this is an order I am not disappointed in taking." His raspy voice whispered to the second guy that was with him, the blue haired girl felt her heart skip a beat and she whipped her head back to see who was harassing her. Two tall built men stood a couple of feet from her in the walkway, one was bald and had light green eyes and the other was about a couple inches shorter. Juvia noticed that neither of them seemed to be well kept considering they both had neglected growing beards and they reeked of liquor and the nastiest parts of the street.

She balled her fist hard to keep herself from trembling, her voice began to crack as she spoke up, "J-juvia thinks you two have the wrong address." She began calculating the probability of how fast she could lock herself in the building before they could reach her, by the looks of it, her chances were slim to nothing. The taller male began to step forward closer to her, "No sweetheart, we've been following you since you left that cafe." He creeped up next to her and placed his forearm on the door and leaned over her head, inches away from her face. Juvia felt her heart race and all she could do was stand there. "You know.." He began to whisper, his liquor smelling breath filled her nostrils. "I was told I could make this quick as long as I got it done, but...I think I'm gonna take my time with you." He smirked and that was enough to snap every ounce of fear in Juvia's body that held her in place. In a quick move she pulled out her keys and slashed them hard on his eyes, causing him to cover them with his hands and step back.

"You little slut!" He hollered, Juvia ignored him and instead focused on unlocking her door. She fumbled with the keys and urged herself not to look back, she knew that even the smallest distraction would get her caught. She finally managed to open the door, lunging herself inside, she began to shut it behind her. It only took her a second of delay to give the shorter guy the opportunity to run full speed and push the door wide open, Juvia tried closing it with her body weight but that was no use against two grown men. One of them pushed her down, causing her to land straight on her butt onto the hardwood floor. "There's people here! They'll call the police!" She screamed, they both chuckled. "By the looks of it, I don't think so."

Juvia reached for her bag to grab her phone, she managed to grip it but felt her ankle get tightly grabbed. She slid her phone to the emergency call, without even having to unlock it she began to dial the police. They picked up instantly, "Please come quick, two large men one bald with green eyes and the other shorter with a beard." Tears were streaming down her face at this point, but she felt a ping of relief knowing she got a hold of help.

"Little bitch just called the police! What do we do now?" The shorter one asked, still gripping her ankle. He let go and grabbed her arm again, pulling her up and slamming her back against the wall. "Don't worry, our job will be done before they even arrive." The bearded intruder smirked at the statement before punching Juvia hard in the stomach, she yelped and that only excited him more. He gripped her shoulders even harder and Juvia knew that would result in bruising, she heard a belt buckle become undone and she looked over at her other attacker. He was unzipping his pants and that forced her in a state of panic. She began screaming and kicking, flailing her forearms despite her biceps being kept firm in place. She spit on the man holding her, doing everything she could to set herself free. "You better shut the hell up!" One of them snapped, Juvia cried out still in shock that this was actually happening to her.

She felt a hand land hard against her left cheek, it stung but she couldn't let it stop her, she kept on freaking out hoping someone from the outside would notice from the noise. The bearded male grew more aggravated and he brought his arm back and punched her hard in the cheekbone, Juvia cried out in pain and even began to sob. She began to realize that no one would come for her in time and save her. She was the only resident in the apartment building currently, no one would hear her screams accept for the intruder. She felt completely alone.

...

Gray yawned softly as he began to pull up to Juvia's apartment, he knew that he didn't give her a definite answer on whether he would show up or not, but after getting his errands out of the way he decided to head over. Despite how intense he thought she was, he really did enjoy her company and needed a study buddy. He also noted to ask her where Erza's whereabouts were, since that was the only repetitive thing that came out of Jellal's mouth besides carbon dioxide. Gray was relieved to see his friend recovering well, his stitches would be out fairly soon and he was walking okay. The only thing that really strained him, was his worries on where Erza might be, due to the fact that neither of them has heard from her in a good few days.

The dark haired boy parked his silver car and stepped out, with only a permit it was against the law for him to be driving on his own, especially after daylight hours. But he didn't really know anyone that was willing to drive around with him all the time, so he just did what was more convenient and hoped he wouldn't get his ass thrown into jail. Gray slung his backpack over his shoulder and used his hand to ruffle through his hair as he approached the home of the blue haired girl, quickly noticing something was off. The door was wide open, and he caught the site of two grown men he had never seen before.

Gray instinctively sprinted towards the doorway and barged in, only to catch the site of the girl he had grown to like being attacked by two men who were trying to get her pants down. Every ounce of self control in his body immediately snapped and he could feel himself almost blackout, he lunged forward and whipped his textbook filled bag at one of the attackers' head who was hunched over Juvia. He cursed loudly and Gray used his unawareness to land an uppercut in his stomach, the other male decided to make a move and Gray delivered a roundhouse kick to his side almost knocking the wind out of him.

He moved on to continue with the one he attacked first, jabbing him hard in his adam's apple and quickly getting a hold on the glass vase that stood on a brown side table. It held wilted flowers and Gray didn't hesitate to smash it over his opponent's cheek and continue attacking.

Juvia held her fist close to her chest as she watched the fight unfold, Gray's experience and skill allowed him the upperhand. She wanted to do something to assist him but her lack of fighting skill would only be an inconvenience to him and besides, by the looks of it Gray had both men under control. She was still in shock by what was happening, she had a strong assumption that those two men were from the underground, probably trying to get to Erza through her or something. She distinctively remembered one of them mentioning taking orders, both of them were probably working for someone there with power trying to target her and Erza. Either way, she was stunned and couldn't believe they managed to follow her all the way to her house.

Within the next few minutes both her attackers were on the floor, too hurt or weak to get up.

Juvia let out a breath and glanced up at Gray, he didn't suffer from much injury aside from a cut on his bottom lip and small cut on his eyebrow. The blue haired girl could feel tears stream down her light skinned face once more, he looked down at her. The sight of her with her pants halfway down and bruises all over her made his blood boil even more, it took all of his self control to not murder them right here and now. If Juvia wasn't in front of him he didn't know if he would be able to stop himself.

He walked over and sat beside her, embracing the girl in his arms. He didn't why these guys were after her, why they would attack her in her own home. But he knew that wasn't the priority in this moment right now, "Are you...okay?" He asked before kissing the top of her head through her soft blue hair, she sniffled and looked up at him. "J-juvia knows exactly what would've taken place if you hadn't shown up when you did. Thank you so much Gray. " Gray opened his moth, but quickly closed it and hugged her tighter. He knew exactly what would've happened too, and he was going to do everything in his power to make sure those two got the sentence they deserved.

Police sirens could finally be heard in the distance, the sound growing louder with each passing second. "Stupid ass police, always showing up after the crime is committed." Gray said roughly, the fact that they had shown up so late made him even more pissed off. He sighed and kissed Juvia's head once more, preparing for the stress that would come with the rest of the night. "G-gray..." She started.

"Shh..." He whispered, "I'm going to make sure no one ever lays a hand on you again."

 _ **...**_

 _ **Anddd there's the next chapter. Updating has been kind of difficult lately due to recent activities, I applied for a job and I hope they like me lmao.**_

 _ **Anyway! REVIEW I SAYYYY! REVIEWWWWWW**_


	19. Bloodshed and Broken Bonds

Erza ducked down behind a car to keep herself from being seen from two passing men, she recognized them from a random night in the underground doing some sort of security work. She knew it was best to keep clear of any sort of eye contact or have herself even in their line of vision. She was in the middle of Irene's two mile radius and anyone who worked for her would be able to probably report back. Erza let out a breath, due to the cold temperatures lately she could see the vapors. Her heart was pounding and even after many nights in the ring and facing many vicious opponents, this is the one she feared most of all. This wasn't in the ring, and despite death being common, her well being was not the only one at risk at here. If she slipped up and got caught by any means, her friends would also be paying for it.

The scarlet haired girl stood up straight, she did a well enough job disguising herself. Dressed in a long strapless skin tight black dress, Erza looked like someone with money, someone who was willing to bet on people fighting tonight. Her hair was curled to perfection, each loose ringlet bouncing slightly with every step she took in her black strappy stiletto heels. She made sure to accessorize correctly, a light silver Tiffany's necklace matched her clutch. _Maybe I overdid it._ She thought quickly, but disregarded it, she had seen well dressed individuals in the business all the time. Either watching or placing bets.

She walked up to the entrance and flipped her hair over her shoulder, she hoped whoever was at the door wouldn't recognize her. She stepped in and saw who the guy was, _Oh fuck..._ She had seen this person multiple times, and on the night she came here in particularly. She fluffed her curled hair into a side part, making sure her bangs covered a good portion of her face. She scanned around for a quick second, she was practically alone in the entrance. He greeted her and she tried not to make eye contact until she heard, "Hey aren't you-" She cut him off by popping him in the mouth with her first, she then delivered a full force cross to his face, knocking him out. She glanced around and let out a quick breath of relief, no one had witnessed that.

She tightened the grip on her clutch and entered, waves of people were inside. _Must be an important fight going on._ She never seen this place so crowded, then again, she's only been here a couple of times. She did her best to blend in, every stepped carefully planned out and keeping her eyes peeled. "Excuse me." She said after accidentally bumping into a high class looking woman. "Pardon me." She said softly, after unintentionally shoulder checking someone else. She recognized no one, she stepped closer to the ring and recognized the two who were about to battle it out. She held in her breath, not believing what she was witnessing. It was sting, he was standing in the corner ready to tare off his robe and take down his opponent. Erza noticed the smirk on his face, his opponent was no other than Rogue, his best friend and the second best male fighter in the business.

 _Both were fast and untouchable but never fought each other..._

Erza remembered getting the chance to speak with both of them a few months prior, she always knew this fight was bound to happen. But now that it actually was, she still couldn't believe it was about to unfold. _So that's the reason so many people came out of hiding tonight..._ She didn't know how high the bets being placed were but she knew it was no joke, she also realized with all the commotion people will be very distracted, giving her a window to confront the woman she came here for, and the only negative emotion she felt was the disappointment of missing probably the most interesting fight of the year.

The well dressed scarlet haired girl turned left and went down the long corridor, her stiletto heel clacking on the hardwood floor with every step no matter how delicate it was. She stopped in front of the door and could already sense the vile woman inside, she pressed her ear up against it and listened for a moment. There was a man inside, possibly someone who worked for Irene. She hesitated for a second and then heard another raspy voice belonging to another male, she held in a breath to hear more clearly. They were discussing a failed business deal, and Irene did not sound too pleased. Erza could only hear bits and pieces of the conversation, due to the loud noise of the crowd from yards away.

"How hard is it to assault a teenage girl?! I should kill you right here and now for your incompetence!" Irene hollered, Erza could then hear something slamming down on a hard surface. She guessed it was Irene's hands coming down hard on her desk.

"There was a boy who interfered! I recognized him, he fought here a couple times. I think his nickname has something to with ice, his hair was dark and h-" The man was blabbering and Irene cut him off.

"Enough!"

Erza began to piece what she just heard together. _Ice...that sounds like the name Gray uses when he fights...assault a teenage girl...interfered?!_ The scarlet haired girl covered her mouth as he gasped, she had come to the conclusion that these guys were to attack Juvia as a message...Erza couldn't take listening to it any longer. She felt herself almost blacking out from the rage, she felt the heat of her body increase in all areas, her breathing became heavy. She quickly clipped her scarlet hair up into a large messy up-do, thick strands were out in front of the sides of her face, including her bangs which made it seem effortlessly elegant. She didn't bother to knock or make a notion that made them expect someone was about to come in, all she did was roughly open the door wide and barge in with a look of distaste appearing on her face.

Irene looked at her daughter, stunned for a moment before her facial expression hardened into a glare. The two men looked the underage girl up and down, Erza took note of that and felt her stomach almost knot. "And just what do you think you're doing?" The older woman snapped, Erza stalked forward. "I just knew it would come to this, attacking my friends and threatening me? Very unbecoming of a so called mother and business woman...then again..you were never really good at either."

Irene felt a growl rise in her throat and she immediately flashed the two men a look, they took it as a signal and began heading towards the scarlet haired underground fighter. Erza reached into the hip high slit of her dress and felt for the handgun she kept strapped to her garter, she grasped it and used it to struck the first guy's face she then continued with an elbow blow, knocking him down. An image of her blue haired friend Juvia, the kindest girl you could ever meet, scared and alone with these two men flashed through the girl's mind. She raised the hand gun and pulled the trigger, shooting the second guy in the chest, twice.

She watched the man brush his wounds with his fingertips, covering the surface in warm crimson liquid. He fell to his knees and Erza felt a certain satisfaction when watching his life be taken from him. She wondered how many lives he ruined and how many girls he violated and damaged by working for the scarlet haired demon spawn, she wondered how many young girls he broke the minds of all for the reward of a generous amount of money. For a moment she wondered if she had done the world a favor, ridding it of this man who possibly destroyed several lives. Had she done the right thing? Despite what he had done, this man was still a human being, and she had just taken his life. In the eyes of the law it was acceptable as self defense, she had no choice. But she still felt herself slightly changed after having her first kill.

Erza shrugged the feelings off, she had bigger and more dangerous things to worry about. She let out a breath and turned towards Irene, who stared at her daughter with disgust but also felt a certain sort of respect. Her daughter was a woman now, who fought for others and what was right. "You've been playing with me, hurting my friends, almost murdering the guy I love, and threatening me and Lucy...for weeks. And that is only one "business" deal you're handling." Erza kept the handgun raised, and she stepped forward, approaching the older woman.

"What are you gonna do Erza...sweetie...you gonna shoot me?" Irene taunted, practically quoting her daughter's words right before she stuck a deadly bullet in Jellal's abdomen. Erza smirked, "Yes actually." She stated before pulling the trigger, shooting Irene in the chest and stomach multiple times. The scarlet haired girl felt a single tear escape her eye and make its way down her left cheek. Irene looked down, her wounds were oozing out a life threatening amount of blood. She looked up once more at Erza, before going light headed and falling back into her large desk chair.

Erza took a deep breath and stepped back, she heard the guy she stunned earlier grunt, she looked down at him. She knew he was just as bad as the first guy she killed, lowered the gun and aimed it at him, she pulled the trigger. Nothing came out, she was out. She bent over and repeatedly struck his head with the weapon, blood oozed out his nose and she was sure she had broken it. She held her forearm over his throat and spoke very clearly, a cold but firm tone could be detected in her voice. "Don't ever say a word about what took place here tonight, you don't know me, you don't know what I look like. You know nothing. You were unconscious while this happened, if you say a word and try to come for me. You better hope I never see you again, am I clear?"

The man looked up at the woman, his vision began to blur and he could feel the liquid in his eyes. "No...ma'am..." He spat out, Erza hit him hard once more, knocking him out cold. She quickly checked his pulse and sighed in relief when she felt something there, she hadn't overdone it. The scarlet haired girl stood up straight, and moved her head in a motion that flipped one side of her hair to the back of her. She strapped the gun right back into her white garter, it was still warm but not enough to burn her skin.

She looked down at her hands, only a small amount of blood stained them. She didn't know who it belonged to, she walked over to Irene and wiped her hands on her sweater. The stains only faded but were practically undetectable unless you really stared. Erza walked over to the door and quietly opened it, taking her leave. No one was in sight when she entered back into the corridor, she walked down. Slightly satisfied by the sound of her own heels clacking on the floor, she had ended it. Irene was no longer a threat, her friends were no longer involved in something that could endanger them. Taking the lives of two horrible people to protect herself and others was something the scarlet haired girl could learn to cope with, yes she committed an act of murder but in her case, it was all she could do in that moment.

She stepped back into the crowd, the fight had just ended and due to the loud commotion and noise, the gunshots weren't heard by anyone. She crossed her arms and stole a quick glance over at the ring, they were still going at it. Both men were equal in almost all areas in their fighting styles, at this rate the fight couldn't even be determined.

...

 ** _Nope! Not last chapter...buttttt you can still review and review lmao._**


	20. Broken Scarlet

There are eight characteristics to life, all of which were essential into confirming that something truly was a living, breathing organism. Anyone who passed eighth grade biology would know that. Erza began to list all of the characteristics in her mind, mainly ones she could remember, as she stripped off her soft black luxurious dress. from cellular organization, all the way to being able to grow and reproduce. Life truly was a beautiful God given thing. The scarlet haired girl looked in the mirror, today she had disregarded that and stripped three people of their lives, including the very woman who had gave her a life in this forsaken world. Erza was standing in her underthings, a black strapless bra and underwear to match, her reflection was blurred due to the steam coming from the hot running water from the shower. Her vicious actions prior to this moment caused her to be in total confusion of what to think, or even feel.

The teenager stripped completely and stepped into the shower. The water was indeed hot and burned her soft skin a bit, but it wasn't enough to hurt, it was just how she preferred it. She grabbed her teal loofah and squirt some coconut scented body wash on it, which she over payed for. Images from earlier flooded her mind as she ran the scrub along her leg, scrubbing off a small amount of dried blood off her calf without any specific knowledge of how she ended up obtaining some there.

 _"What're you gonna do Erza...sweetie...shoot me?"_

 _"Yes actually."_

The loud bang of the gunshots filled the girl's ears all over again, her eyes shot wide open and she shook her head, running the loofah along her shoulder now. The image of her own mother falling back lifelessly in her chair flashed through her conscious once more, she tried to push it out of her mind but failed to do so.

She began to wash her long scarlet colored hair and managed to finish up within the next ten minutes. She stepped out and wrapped a white towel around her naked form. She thought a nice shower would due her rapid nerves slightly good, but unfortunately she was wrong.

Erza stepped into her room and tossed her clothes and heels on her neatly made bed, she changed into a black fitted tank and a pair of black loose short shorts. She couldn't shake the feeling of being hit with what almost seemed like a shot of adrenaline, she let out several deep breaths and walked over to the kitchen. Placing her palms on the edge of the counter and her feet up against the wall, she wedged herself between the counter and the wall with her stomach towards the ceiling. She began to do a set of push ups, working out her triceps, managing to do around twenty before her arms grew weak. She paused and went again, and again, and again, until she grew bored and plopped down to land on her feet. The red head stood on her tip toes and went down flat again and repeated this to now work on her calves. She let out deep breaths but it was still no use, the guilt was overwhelming and the rush of nerves began to practically take over her body.

Erza knew there was only one person she could confide in about this, someone who would probably grasp an understanding.

...

The door opened to reveal a familiar light brown haired woman, with red rimmed glasses.

"Oh Erza dear, I thought you would never come to visit me." Evergreen exaggerated as she welcomed the girl she practically raised inside. Her one story house gave off a cozy feel to it right when you entered. The tan carpeted floor contrasted well with the L-shaped couch, a flat screen TV was centered up high against a wall with a stone fireplace below it. She got the fire going and the whole place was warm and inviting. Erza remembered Evergreen explaining to her how she inherited the house from her parents right before they decided to travel around the world, for business related events of course.

"Now judging by that devastated look that pretty face, something tells me this isn't just a casual visit. What's troubling you?" She asked as she tucked a strand of hair behind Erza's ear. The scarlet haired girl sighed, Evergreen had a thing when it came to figuring out when something was up. "Is it wrong to do a bad thing when it benefits the lives of others?" The older woman cocked her head, "What do you mean? Did you do something?"

Erza went over to the couch and gestured for Evergreen to sit beside her. "I had a run in with a very successful underground business owner. And I found out this woman was my mother." Evergreen was taken a back for a moment but listened on trying not to be fazed out just yet. "She's been doing illegal business deals with Jude Heartfilia..."

"Isn't that Lucy's father?" Erza nodded to the woman's question and watched as Evergreen covered her mouth with her hand in pure shock.

"He was in some kind of debt with her apparently, and when she didn't get her money she began threatening me and my friends for weeks. She wanted to use Lucy as leverage and when I refused to give her up, she made sure to let me pay for it."

"Pay for it?" Evergreen raised an eyebrow, her concern growing more stronger.

"Indeed. The psychopath shot one of the closest people to me, his blood was all over my hands and I almost watched him die. Thankfully he's recovering, she went on to send two disturbed guys to sexually assault Juvia but luckily she was saved just in time. What if Gray wasn't there to stop those men? What if the bullet that landed Jellal in the hospital wasn't shot an inch and a half off from a fatal area?"

"I took matters into my own hands...and I decided to kill Irene and those two men. Without even thinking twice." Evergreen lunged forward and embraced the broken girl into a tight hug, tears streamed down her face as she imagined the horrors the poor girl had to live through, the things she had to do to ensure her loved one's safety. "I'm so sorry Erza...that woman truly is despicable."

"I just feel this heavy guilt and it's practically crushing me, I can feel it in my chest and the rush just won't go away." Evergreen pulled herself away and looked Erza dead in her large brown eyes. "Yes, it's true that you took a life, but what would've happened if you didn't do what you did? More of your friends probably would've been attacked, and who knows...they could have probably ended up with Lucy in their custody as well. And who knows what would've happened if they did...you followed your gut instinct and you saved your friends. You were in danger and there was nothing else you could've done, it was a kill or be killed situation and you survived." Evergreen ran a hand over Erza's head for a moment. The younger girl let out a breath and took her words to heart, "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. Now stand up." Evergreen pulled her by the arm as she stood and dragged her to the middle of the living room. "What?" Erza asked, confused as ever. "I am going to heat you up some hot chamomile tea with, in the meantime I want you to sit and cross your legs and close your eyes." Erza obeyed the directions and sat on the carpeted floor, the heat of the fire warmed up her left arm and that alone eased her a bit. "Is this some kind of weird meditation exercise?" Evergreen rolled her eyes at the ignorance. "No! I want you to reflect on the good times with your friends and realize that you will be eased at one point, maybe not now, but time does heal and God willing, you will be."

Erza took in a deep breath and started looking back on memories with Lucy and Juvia, right when they were in junior high and also to when Juvia and her were given the keys to their apartment. She also remembered bathing with Natsu and Gray when they were around seven because Evergreen had the pleasure of looking after them for a night. She smiled when the memory of the first cocky interaction between her and Jellal came up. Even though she was ashamed by her violent decision, if she hadn't taken immediate action then her friends would have still been in danger and who knows what would have happened.

The scarlet haired girl opened her eyes to smell of honey and chamomile tea, Evergreen brought the cup over to her. "Thank you." Erza said as she grabbed it and began sipping lightly. "You never really told me about this Jellal guy now did you?" Erza blushed as she spoke those words. She gulped a hot mouthful and instantly regretted it as her tongue and throat burned. "Just some guy I met at school." She said bluntly.

"Don't be stingy with details, I taught you better."

Erza rolled her eyes. "Okay fine...He's this really amazing guy who really does care for me. He understands why I do what I do and he gets me, I never thought I would say this about any guy...but, I really do like him." Evergreen beamed at those words, she mentally started thinking about wedding dress styles that would fit Erza's body shape well. _Definitely a mermaid style..._

Evergreen got up from the couch and walked over to the spot where Erza was sitting she placed both hands on the girl's cheeks and smiled. "Oh Erza I thought you would never find a man with all that fighting crap you do!" Using one arm, Erza pushed her lightly and Evergreen practically burst out with laughter. The red head giggled at the woman's reaction, she noted to visit Evergreen at home more often...seems like forever since she'd been here. And for the first time in a while, Erza felt a good feeling deep within her stomach, she truly felt at home.

...

 _ **MIA? Maybe...almost two months since an update smh. Writing this part was literally hell, not the chapter...that was fun. But my computer was literally crashing and then restarting every ten or so minutes. I would have a paragraph written and then it would crash and be gone...saving the document every three sentences was annoying as well...but I successfully finished the part! Next one is on the way!**_

 _ **Review and Review! (:**_


	21. Visiting Hours

Approaching the hospital, Erza felt herself get nauseated despite the fact that she had barely even eaten. It was the next morning and the scarlet haired girl had passed out at Evergreen's for the night, she ended up waking up early and notifying the older woman that she would be heading out. A quick flashback of Evergreen complaining about how she never stayed long enough made her smile.

The underground fighter had only spared about a half hour back at her apartment to change into a pair of white ripped up skinny jeans and tight and black high-neck halter tank. She was cautious enough not to disturb Juvia's sleep and she noted to speak with her later, their much needed conversation was long overdue. After entering the large building, Erza was instantly greeted with a rush of cold air, causing goosebumps. She mentally slapped herself for not bringing a sweater with her. She checked in with the polite brunette secretary at the front desk before heading up to the room Jellal was recovering in.

As the scarlet haired girl made her way through she found herself peering into rooms and stealing glances at patients and their conditions, she was careful not to look for too long, she didn't want to come off as disrespectful. Images of her younger self in this very hospital began to flash through her mind, the life of an underground fighter wasn't a luxurious one and when she was starting out she didn't always come out of the ring with a victory. The fights she did win at first didn't come easy either and since she was a rookie she didn't get payed as much for her efforts. Even though Erza was only thirteen when she was just getting into the business, she often found herself in and out of the hospital weekly due to new injuries on top of old ones. Often being over exerted, and fighting with previous injuries didn't help much either. Some fights put the teenager in the hospital directly, she was thankful she didn't lose any teeth.

Overtime the underground boxer improved due to a change in diet and better training methods, instead of stepping away from pain she would step into punches and counter harder.

Finally approaching the room Jellal was in, Erza walked in since the door was already open. A smile slowly formed on her face when she saw him, his ruffled a hand through his messy blue hair and he was dressed in practically regular clothes. He was in much better condition than what she saw merely a few days ago.

"Well look what the cat dragged in." He said with a slight chuckle that gave off his usual cocky tone. He glanced up at her and made eye contact, something he hasn't done in the past four days considering the scarlet haired girl was practically MIA. "Glad to see someone is feeling better." She took a seat beside his bed and flipped her ponytail from her shoulder to rest down her back.

"Yeah should be out of here rather soon actually, should make it back to school within the next week or so." Erza's eyes went wide for a couple seconds at that statement. "You sure that's the best thing for you?" Jellal rolled his eyes, "I'm not made of glass sweetheart." The underground fighter mentally slapped herself again for even asking such a thing. Jellal was way tougher than she was and just as self reliant, she would have probably done the same thing if the roles were switched.

"So where have you been off to lately?"

Erza shifted in her chair uncomfortably, she had only confided in Evergreen about her violent endeavors. She was trying not to think about it too much, because she knew overthinking would stress her to the max and probably make her do some crazy shit. Which she already has, taking out an underground leader was risky and if she wasn't careful she would have made herself a target. Who knows how many business deals Irene had left behind, Erza knew how people in the underground were with money, they'd do anything for it. With Irene finished, there were definitely people in power who are grade A pissed about how much they just lost. And if they found out that she was the one who took out their boss, she'd have a bullet through her brain by morning.

 _"Don't ever say a word about what took place here tonight, you don't know me, you don't know what I look like. You know nothing. You were unconscious while this happened, if you say a word and try to come for me. You better hope I never see you again, am I clear?"_

The flashback of herself saving that man's life scattered through her mind. She knew how harsh certain people will go to get the information they need, what if she made a mistake? Erza's greatest weakness was that she was merciful, she didn't have it in her to take another life. What if the guy was pushed into giving information? What exactly would he tell them? She knew her fate would be sealed if the man even uttered the name 'Titania'. She was champion and well known, easily recognizable in the business, her only way out if she was exposed was to be off the grid completely and giving up everything.

"Erza."

The sharp sound of her name snapped the teenager out of her thoughts, maybe she was overthinking the situation. She tried brushing it off, what's done was done. She had killed two people recklessly, important people, of course people would know about it. All the girl had going for her was if people didn't make the connection that it was her who took them out.

Erza tried masking her worries with a laugh, "I'm sorry, must have spaced out." Jellal stared at her straight-faced, he wasn't buying it. "You must really think I'm an idiot." He replied in a serious tone. Her face grew hot in embarrassment, she should have known better. "No actually...it's just..." He cut her off, "Listen...I don't know where you been but you don't have to tell me everything. Just tell me one thing, are you in any trouble?" She didn't know how to answer that without giving the full story, she didn't know if she was or not. The red head gave out a sigh and decided to just bite the bullet anyway, she trusted him.

"I did something.." She began, the memory of herself crying to him while he was unconscious flashed through her brain. She remembered apologizing for disappointing him and feeling so guilty, she still carried that with her of course, but now she felt even worse with everything else that had occurred. Jellal raised an eyebrow, he felt his own heart beat rapidly, but he kept his poker face.

"After I came to visit you a few days ago, you were still unconscious. I felt so guilty, as if I was the one who put that bullet in you myself, which I might as well have. You wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for me, it was my idea to go that night and look what happened." She took in a deep breath and released it, Jellal rolled his eyes again. "Look, it was in fact _my_ decision to follow your lead that night. And it wasn't your fault, you couldn't have possibly known what would've happened. I'm fine, and I'm glad it's me here and not you."

Erza felt herself blush again, she never would have thought a few months ago that this boy would ever say such a thing to her. Heck, she never thought that anyone would ever say such a thing to her. She felt her heart practically stop and fall into her stomach, she didn't even know how to answer or how to even describe what she was feeling. "Jellal I want you to know that what I'm about to tell you might make you think differently..." She trailed off again, what if him knowing what she had done would change his views on her? What if he saw her as a murderer. _Quit overthinking it Erza and just tell him..._ She said subconsciously.

The boy scoffed. "Oh please, hit me with it."

"I shot and killed Irene and another guy that worked for her." She said it bluntly and she knew her tone made her sound like a complete sociopath. Erza was never good with confessing things like this, she always thought that if you just ripped off the bandaid faster than the conversation will be a lot smoother and to the point. Jellal remained silent, all he did was ruffle a hand through his hair and glance at the wall in front of him. He was speechless.

Erza felt her heart sank, what had she just done? Did she make his demeanor suddenly change, did he view her differently now? _I knew it..._ She had ruined everything now, she had severed her relationship or whatever it was with him.

After what felt like forever to the teenage girl, Jellal finally spoke. "You mean to tell me, that you risked your life to save that of your friends?" Her brown eyes widened, _So I take it...he doesn't hate me..._

He looked at her, "You feel the need to take on the world for other people...you're selfless. I know you feel guilty right now but you did what you had to do to save yourself and your friend. Doesn't matter how much you resemble your mother or that you're blood related, you're nothing like her."

The scarlet haired girl didn't even wait to process what he said, her instincts did the work for her. And without thinking, she suddenly got up and practically lunged at him, crashing her soft lips onto his. He kissed her back and felt herself grow hot once more, she knew it was cliche to think this, but when she was with him she felt as if her worries faded and that she was no longer truly alone.

Erza felt Jellal's hand cup her cheek, she wasn't experienced but somehow she knew exactly what to do. She bit his lip softly and he chuckled a bit before turning the kiss into an all out make out session.

It was going well before they heard the door open. "Bad timing?" The kind nurse smiled at the two teenagers. The woman looked young herself, maybe late twenties. Her highlighted brunette hair was pulled back into a high bun and she held a clipboard in her hand.

Erza instantly pulled away from him, mortified. "U-uh should I go?" She spat out, she felt herself blush all over once more in embarrassment. _Real classy Erza, real classy_ She thought to herself, ashamed of being caught in action-well mild action. The woman giggled softly with her fingertips over her lips, "Of course not, I'm just going over a few routine things with Jellal before he leaves today."

The scarlet haired girl sat there for a minute, quietly. _I know he said he was leaving soon...I didn't think he meant today_ She let out a short breath, knowing that the transition might be hard. He wasn't fully recovered yet and she didn't want him to overdue it. Erza listened for a minute as the nurse went over the basics, like how often he should change his guaze and make sure it's sterile and all that.

Within the next hour Erza and Jellal were already making their way out, "I think I'm good to drive." The scarlet haired girl scoffed at his statement, "You mean to tell me that you didn't schedule for someone to drive you home?" She couldn't even comprehend the headassery of this situation, _Boys are so reckless_

He burst out laughing, "I'm just messin with you, Natsu is parked over there." He flicked his head up towards the direction in which Natsu was, he drove Jellal's jeep and was on his phone in the driver's seat.

Jellal tapped the window and Natsu practically jumped, he unlocked the car and Erza took the back seat and Jellal took the passenger. "Damn Natsu didn't think I could scare you that bad." Natsu flicked him off before tossing his phone in the glove compartment. "Looks like someone's doing better." The pink haired boy said with a smile before starting up the car and taking off. "At least I can truthfully say I took a bullet now."

"Soo Erza, where have you been?" The red head chuckled softly, "Man that question is popular today." She folded her arms and answered plainly, "Just taking care of a few things, nothing major." _Understatement of the century but oh well_

"Sounds like a drag." He answered with a fake yawn. Erza rolled her eyes but smiled afterwords anyway, seems like forever since she had talked to Natsu. She had always viewed him as an imbecile, but she knew she'd practically crumble if she lost him. "Yo Erza, the hell are you smiling at? You look stupid." She glared at the pinkette's comment, _Why doesn't this dumbass ever let me have my moment?_

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH NATSU!"

...

 ** _I swear...my computer crashes and then restarts...every ten minutes._**


	22. When Reality Sets In

_Boys are so nasty_

Erza thought to herself as she stepped into Jellal's kitchen, apparently Natsu crashed here for a few days while Jellal was in the hospital. The dishes in the sink were stacked and old food had crusted on the plates and utensils. Her nostrils were filled with the scent of old chicken and pasta, she began to question whether or not the two were nose blind or just didn't care, considering both Natsu and Jellal were resorting to paper towels to have sandwiches on.

"So I take it neither of you are gonna bother to clean this up?" She inquired while retaining her look of disgust. The pinkette replied with a mouthful of turkey, "Clean what up?" Erza coughed, "The disaster in the sink! You have a fucking dishwasher right there." Natsu looked at her, annoyed, and then sighed before putting down his half finished sandwich. He got up and began to rinse the dirty plates, utensils, and glasses and began properly setting them into the racks. The scarlet haired girl was pleased to see he could do that. "This is such ass, half of these aren't even mine." He complained. Jellal scoffed, "Ultear works full time and Meredy is the cleanest person I know. And only you could go through most of our leftovers in a matter of a few days." The pinkette argued back, "Must've been someone else." He started to place the last few dishes into the washer but already ran out of room, he tried fitting a glass but failed.

"Don't overfill it, they won't wash properly." Erza instructed. "What am I supposed to do with them then?" The red head closed her eyes for a moment and rested her forehead on her fingertips, trying to process the question he just asked. "You hand wash them!"

Natsu felt his insides tense up as the loud volume of her voice pierced through his ears. He quickly began washing the rest by hand before she could yell at him for anything else.

"Can't wait to catch up on all that schoolwork." Jellal sighed, images of nights with only two hours of sleep ran through his mind, he flashed a look of disgust. Erza felt her heart practically fall out of her chest and into her stomach, she had missed a lot too. With everything going on she had put schoolwork way on the back burner, she knew she was no longer an A student, she shuddered at the thought of checking her online grades. "They are definitely gonna make me make up all the absences." The red head moaned, at least Jellal's were excused. Her's however, would cause her an attendance failure if she didn't make them up.

"Bet both of y'all are panicking, can't relate." Natsu chimed in, he dried off the last plate and placed it carefully back in the cabinet. "Yo shut up." Jellal said with a mouthful.

...

Erza felt her whole body jump as her alarm clock rang through her ears, her eyes instantly felt heavy and sore from opening abruptly. It was 6:05 and Erza knew she had already hit the snooze button, even though she didn't remember it. She groggily switched it off and dragged herself from the comfort of her bed. She would be returning to school full time again, today was when the real nightmare begins. She groaned as she stretched out her arms, a chill went down her spine. It was already winter and Erza's choice of sleepware was white short shorts and a white tank.

The scarlet haired fighter had returned to her shared apartment last night, she noticed that Juvia must've been closing the cafe or something because she wasn't home by the time she had knocked out.

Erza let out a soft yawn before pinning up her hair and hopping the shower, she grabbed some coconut oil and began shaving. She didn't care that it was dead of winter, she needed the hair gone. Once she finished she rinsed off in cold water with some coconut scented body wash, she was careful not to let herself dose off, cause she'll end up rushing and being late as per usual. She got out and wrapped a pink towel around herself and brushed her teeth quick, she knows Juvia will be kicking her out of the bathroom soon enough.

She exited and headed towards the kitchen where Juvia already had the coffee pot going, "Hey stranger." Erza smiled at her, Juvia beamed "Good Morning." Her blue hair was tied into a high messy ponytail with her bangs and wavy side strands hanging loose, she was sipping her coffee while scrolling through her phone. Erza headed towards her room and threw on a black bran and matching underwear with her usual white blouse and black skirt. She threw on some shear black tights and her usual shoes. She let her long hair loose and pinned two strands from the front of her head and connected them with a clip in the back to give off that half up look.

The red head quickly rushed to the bathroom but Juvia was already showering, "Damnit." she said under her breath, she had forgotten her make up bag in there. Then an idea popped in her brain, she quickly walked over to Juvia's room. Which looked like a hurricane had occurred in here as usual, Juvia was very tidy at her job, but her room was a whole other story. She was a hoarder of clothes and school assignments. She went over to Juvia's dresser and grabbed the flower printed bag, she walked over to her roommate's mirror and applied some concealer and some bronzer, along with some pink lip gloss before returning everything back to where it was.

Erza mentally high-fived herself for that lifehack, she grabbed her binder and shoved it in her white backpack before grabbing a piece of toast that was left in the toaster. She sipped on her black coffee as she waited for Juvia to get ready.

The blue haired teen managed to get ready within the next ten minutes, she left her hair in the cute ponytail it was in and she wore black thigh highs with her school uniform. "Ready to go?" Juvia asked with her bag over her shoulder and keys in her hand, Erza nodded. She couldn't even come up with words to describe how badly she wanted to avoid going.

"Juviaaaa." The blue haired girl rolled her eyes at the sound of her friend complaining as she locked the door behind her. "No complaining, you already missed enough days as it is." She nagged as she opened the front door, both girls were instantly greeted by gust of cold winter air. Erza could already feel her nose turn red, the urge to run back inside and go under the covers was real.

Erza would have called up a friend for a ride but she didn't want to seem annoying, and the school was only a rough fifteen minute walk, so she wouldn't suffer long. She let out a deep sigh and saw her breath in the form of water vapors in front of her. Just because the walk was short, didn't make it any less shitty.

Erza entered the large school building and said goodbye to Juvia before they both took off for their first period, they made it with only a couple seconds to spare before the bell rang. The scarlet haired girl practically bolted for her locker, not even noticing what she was about to do.

"Watch it skank!"

Erza was about to apologize for shoulder checking the girl until she heard that. She turned around and met eyes with the white haired bitch of the school. "Oh I'm sorry, tramp." Lisanna stepped forward and looked down at the girl her eyes formed into a dark glare, "I told you to watch yourself didn't I?" By the tone in her voice, Erza would of thought the girl was trying to challenge her.

The scarlet haired girl met Lisanna's cold stare and said her piece simply, "Are you trying to step to me?" The white haired girl scoffed, "Step to what? A piece of trash like you? No, you aren't even worth it." Erza's eyes went wide, she was slightly taken a back by this girl's boldness. "What makes you so cocky these days? Or did the fact that Natsu chose Lucy over you just put you in a bitch mood?" She smirked as she watched Lisanna's face turn into pure anger.

Erza's face jerked to the side as she felt Lisanna's hand make contact with her right cheek. _This bitch really just old school slapped me..._ The scarlet haired girl looked back at her, the hit didn't hurt much at all. She thought about knocking the girl's teeth out then and there, the hallway was empty and she could probably get away with it as defense. Lisanna did hit her first after all, but she decided against it. It wouldn't do her any good and knowing Lisanna, she would victimize herself to people anyway. Erza rolled her eyes and turned away, continuing to make her way to her locker.

"Yeah that's what I thought. Guess you aren't as tough as you say you are. Is that why you have no family? If I had a weak bitch for a daughter, I probably would of abandoned you too." Lisanna said with a chuckle, Erza stopped dead in her tracks and turned right back around. "Don't ever talk down to me like that." Erza raised her fist and Lisanna moved to the right to dodge, Erza decked her in the cheek with a right hook and watched as she slammed against the locker from the hard blow. The satisfaction coursed through Erza's veins and she was already pumped, it reminded her how much she loved fighting.

"Erza Scarlet, please report to the Dean's office immediately."

And right then and there, her mood was ruined.

...

Erza walked into Makarov's office and took a seat, the old man was sorting through paper's rapidly and Erza knew those were probably expulsion forms. Her heart was pumping and she was struggling to not get on her knees and beg to stay, but she kept her cool and decided to wait and see how things play out.

"So I take it you know why you're here." He spoke, and that's what broke her. "I'm so sorry, I don't even know why I did it. I know it's unbecoming of a student to even do such a thing and if you please let me continue to come to school here I promise it won't happen again." Makarov looked at the girl, confused, and began to suspect if she had taken something. "Well it's nice to see you care so strongly for your attendance ."

Erza's expression softened and she began to blush from embarrassment, she almost ratted her own self out.

"You're assigned ten after school detentions to make up for your lost time, you can catch up on work and make up your credits then, if you fail to do so then you'll fail for this semester. Got it?" Erza let out a sigh of relief, "Yes, thank you." He handed her some paperwork to sign and she nodded at him and walked out, mentally slapping herself for acting a fool. She looked over the paperwork and noticed that her detentions started tomorrow, and they were until 3:40. She groaned but then remembered it gave her an excuse to do her missed schoolwork and revive her grades.

She finally made it to her first period class and walked in, it was English and one Erza's favorites but she didn't feel like dealing with it today. She handed the teacher a late slip and walked over to her desk. This class was silent and still had an hour left to go and the only friends she had in here were seated all the way across the room. She noticed everyone was taking some sort of exam, it was probably the midterm. The teacher placed her's on her desk with her name already written at the top in pen, Erza knew she was screwed but she would wing it just like everything else in life.

...

 ** _Feels weird writing about school in the middle of summer...smh_**


	23. Cafe Treats and Cage Fighters

"Ten freaking detentions?"

Lucy stated loudly as she poured out the rest of the coffee pot into a to go cup for a waiting customer, her blonde hair was tied back into a messy bun with her bangs and some strands hanging loose. She handed her customer their coffee and transferred the pay. "Yep, starting tomorrow." The red haired answered while fiddling with some coffee straws, she eyed the fresh pastries that were displayed on the counter and debated whether she should have the extra calories or not. _Screw it...I deserve this_

"Can I get one of those?" She asked, titling her head up quick to gesture for the vanilla cupcakes with strawberries in their cake frosting. The blonde giggled, "Sure Erzy." She used the tongs to place the baked good on a plate and she slid it over the counter, Erza handed her a five in exchange. "How are you doing...with you know everything?" She asked, she knew everything went haywire in the past couple months and despite everything she noticed Lucy being extra productive and still carrying that glowing smile everywhere she goes. But she wondered if the blonde was actually healing or was she just distracting herself.

Lucy flashed her friend a smile, "Moving forward is all you can do. I'm grateful that none of us were killed, and I'm gonna use this as motivation to work even harder to achieve what I want and without the use of my family's blood money." The scarlet haired girl expected a different answer, and she was glad that she was given this one. She admired Lucy's independence and how well she carried herself and she knew that the blonde would achieve what she set out to do.

Juvia stepped in to bring out a fresh batch of croissants , she began displaying them out in the front which made Erza's mouth water even more. Lucy began serving other customers that just came in. The mornings and the couple hours after school ended was usually their busiest, and Erza did her best to keep out of the way. She watched as the blue haired worker whipped up a couple of lattes and bagged some baked goods to give them to a couple that was waiting.

"Lucy I forgot to ask...how are things going with Natsu?" The red head inquired with a mouthful, Lucy paused at the cappuccino maker and let out a sigh. "I don't know, one minute I think he's all about me and the next I feel like I'm just...annoying him." Erza swallowed, "Why do you think you're annoying him?" Lucy checked for incoming customers and to her dismay, none had come in since that last few she just served. She turned to her scarlet haired friend and leaned over the counter. "I don't know, like sometimes we'll be having these deep convos and then the next minute he just leaves me on opened. Or he'll just be dry and boring in the convo, like he doesn't wanna talk to me."

"Boys...especially Natsu can be weird like that. That mixed signal shit is irritating but Natsu is just...I don't know he's different, let's say that." Erza has never really been in a relationship before so she lacked the experience, but she did know that many people nowadays wake up with different feelings everyday and you never know what could happen. There was thing she was sure of though, when Natsu wants or likes something, his mind is set on that. "I just don't know how to tell him how I really feel." Lucy sighed as she stood up straight and popped a bagel in the oven. "Well I think you should spend more time with him and eventually see where it leads, if it feels right, tell him." The blonde nodded, "Yeah that seems like the best option considering..." She trailed off.

Erza's left eyebrow went up in curiosity, "Considering what?" Lucy began to spread butter on her cinnamon raisin bagel, ignoring the red head's question. "Lucy..spill!" The blonde blushed, Erza would be the first she ever told. "We kinda...sent snaps back and forth." Erza let out a small laugh, "What kind of snaps are we talking here?" The cafe worker felt her face grow hot, "Well at least I had some sort of underwear on...him however..."

Erza burst out laughing, the thought of Lucy taking a racy pic was hilarious. "Oh shut up, it's not that funny." The blonde nagged. "Oh it kinda is, but you agreed to it right? It wasn't like pushed or anything?" She never depicted Natsu to be a player type, but you never know with hormonal teenage boys. "No, he did bring it up. But it was completely up to me, plus it was kind of fun."

"Just make sure it keeps progressing to your benefit."

Lucy giggled, "Obviously."

...

Erza approached _the_ boxing gym dressed in black skinny jeans, low cut white t-shirt and black sneakers. Her gym bag contained her clothes and other gear and was hanging off her shoulder. She still had one goal in her mind, and that was to dominate over male fighters in the underground. Truly marking her as the best of the best. She stepped in to find that the place was actually pretty packed, and not another female was in sight. Intimidation began to nip at her, but she pushed that aside. She had fought guys before, training with them shouldn't be an issue.

She walked over to the back where there was a small empty locker room, she changed quickly into black short shorts and and form fitting tank. She tied up her hair into a high bun with a few front strands hanging loose over her face. She zipped up her bag and walked out, almost all the heavy and light bags were occupied. _Maybe I should have came with someone.._ She said in her mind, instantly regretting the decision to show up alone.

"You seem lost." Erza turned around and was greeted by a tall and older looking man. His hair was light brown, almost orange and was sleeked back. You can tell this guy was in here often due to how toned and built he was. "Not in the slightest." She lied.

The man crossed his arms. "Well if you weren't, you wouldn't be standing there like an idiot." Erza tensed up, "Excuse me?" She said, almost offended. He laughed, "Relax kid, I'm just messing with you. The name's Gildarts by the way." She let out a sigh in relief, "Oh well, I'm Erza."

"Right, so mind telling me what you came in for? Don't normally see many females come in, especially younger ones." The scarlet haired girl answered bluntly, "Well I'm just looking to train."

"Do you have any form of experience?" He asked, by the tone of that question Erza could tell this guy was arrogant. "Yes actually." Gildarts looked her up and down, to him she was toned and athletic looking but didn't really resemble much of a fighter. "I'm not talkin petty street fights with inexperienced girls." He taunted, the red head rolled her eyes. "You'd actually be surprised how intense street fights can get." She answered, instantly having flashbacks from her fight with Yosei and Minerva.

Gildarts glanced over a the octagon, semi interested in what this teen had in her. "Hm, alright show me some moves if you're so confident." He grabbed his black MMA gloves and Erza watched as he walked over and stepped into the large cage. She debated whether she should or not, the guy was more than twice her size and she only met him five minutes ago, she didn't know how experienced he was or his fighting patterns. _It's just training, you sparred with guys before._ She calmed herself and threw on her own pair of white MMA gloves, she debated whether she should put on any more protective gear but decided against it due to laziness.

She stepped into the octagon and got into stance, she watched as he did the same. She circled around and began to analyze, she threw a quick jab to feel the water a bit. He raised his arm and deflected it with minimal effort. He stepped in and threw an array of attacks in lightning speed, the scarlet haired fighter bent over backwards to dodge. She instantly regretted it as she felt hard blows all over her body due to having herself over exposed, she was about to step back and counter when she felt a lower leg kick knock her down. She landed on her back but got back up on her feet in a split second. _At least he ain't going easy on me because I'm a girl._ She thought to herself, it was either that or he actually was going easy and she was really rusty.

Gildarts threw a higher kick at her, Erza used her hand to deflect it and then struck him in the face with a punch. He brought his hands back up and countered, she dodged and kicked him in the lower part of the ribs, where the bones were weaker. He shot her a right hook, she dodged and came back up with a jab to the throat. He was stunned for a second and she used the window to deliver several body shots and a cross to the face. He stepped back, "Alright alright, that got a little too intense for a quick sparring match." Erza chuckled, she did go a little harder than intended. "But I do admit, you got some skill. And I also wanted to say that when someone is coming at you fast and hard towards the face, don't bend over in panic that will leave you open and it was easy for me to knock you down." Erza did notice her mistake during the fight, she doesn't usually do something foolish like that but it was nice to have some constructive tips.

Erza did notice herself get a little rusty during the sparring match. which only motivated her to come more often and spar against different male fighters and study their style. Because she did have a long way to go until she was ready to take on the one and only Sting Eucliffe.


	24. Stress, Blood, and Caffeine

Gray adjusted his grip on his black adidas brand backpack as he walked down the hallway, he was tired and beat from his violent activities from the night before. Obviously he was no champion but he was going up through the ranks and becoming more known and valuable to bet on, which made his pay worth the hefty risks. He thought about how much debt he took on, he still had thousands to go and some payments were long overdue. He could feel the stress eating away at his insides, he would have to amp things up and start having more and more important matches with highly valuable fighters. He knew didn't have proper training, only relying on his experiences as a street fighter, but he'd do anything to pay off the bills that were pilling up. The treatment needed for his guardian, Ur, was weighing down on him. And with her bedridden for a year now, the checks she was receiving weren't nearly enough, so Gray took on the responsibility of holding everything together himself.

"Good afternoon Gray!" The sweet familiar voice of the blue haired café worker pulled him out of his thoughts. He turned to her, "Oh what's up Juvia." Due to tiredness his voice made him come off as bored or uninterested, which was exactly the opposite of how he felt around her. "Did you have a decent day?" She asked with an upbeat tone in her voice. _Decent? I'm drowning in bills, can barely afford to feed myself..._

"Yes actually, it was ight." He said as they continued to make their way down the crowded hall, the last bell rang a couple of minutes ago and everyone was more than eager to grab their shit from their lockers. "Well Juvia is pleased to hear that, Juvia's day was fine as well. Still gotta work today and close up." Gray smiled, means he could chill in the café for a bit and get his schoolwork done, it was always much better with Juvia's cheerful personality around. Something about her put him at ease.

"Well this is Juvia's locker right here, and work starts at four so Juvia will just be going straight there." Gray was pleased to hear she started that early, he actually preferred to start his school straight after school is out for the day, he tried squeezing it in at lunch and when he had free time in classes. It was difficult juggling getting "suicide pay" from the underground and trying to maintain a good GPA.

He stood behind her as she squatted down to unlock her bottom locker. "Well in that case, let me wait for you."

...

The scarlet haired student sat in the back of the room, only about two other students had detention today. Of course one was Natsu, who was in here more times than he wasn't and the other was a light purple haired girl that Erza barely knew. She pulled out her history assignment which was just vocab definitions, the rule in here was that if you had nothing to work on, you stay an extra day. And she was not trying to get herself caught up in that. She looked at the clock, detention began fifteen minutes ago and whoever was supposed to supervise it didn't arrive it.

"There's still no teacher yet? It doesn't count if we don't get the sign up sheet." The purple haired girl spoke, she pushed up her glasses. Natsu scoffed and slouched back, he wasn't the slightest bit of interested, he still had many more to serve so it didn't matter if he had to make one up.

Erza raised an eyebrow, she didn't care if the teacher showed up or not, she needed that sign in sheet. "This school is a joke." She muttered before she pushed up from her desk and began making her way out the door. "And where are you going?" Natsu inquired. "To the Dean's office, where else?" She remarked over her shoulder.

The scarlet haired student made her way down the hall, she was relieved she had to go down, sitting in one spot in utter silence was mind numbing. She peered into empty classrooms as she walked down the hall, immediately looking straight ahead after making eye contact with a teacher. The Dean's office wasn't far, and she made it there within the next minute. She opened the door and walked in, there was a woman working the front desk as usual.

"What is it hun?" She asked while still looking at her computer screen.

"There's no one covering detention." She answered, the woman sighed, this clearly wasn't the first time this has happened. She rolled over to the wall with her chair and checked the clipboard. "Yeah it was supposed to be Reedus today, but he had to leave early do to some...digestive issues." Erza sighed, if no one was covering detention then this wouldn't count, considering there's no one to prove that she actually did the time.

"Is this not gonna count?" She asked, the woman looked at her and scratched her head. "How many other students are with you?" Erza shifted, "Only two others." The woman picked up a thick binder and flipped it over to a blank page. "There's no one else to cover detention today. And since there's only three of you, you can bring this back to classroom so all three of you can sign in and I'm gonna allow you leave a bit early since there's only ten minutes left of detention anyway." The scarlet haired student felt a small wave of relief wash over her, she grabbed the binder and thanked the secretary before exiting the office.

The red haired student walked back into the silent classroom, instantly greeted by the sight of Natsu passed out with his head on the desk and the other girl was tapping away at her phone. She walked over and slammed the binder on Natsu's desk...hard. Instantly awaking the pink haired boy from his sleep. "What the he'-"

"Sign in, we get to leave a few minutes early." She cut him off and handed him a pen, he grunted, he wanted to finish his dream. "They usually have us stay after an extra day, what's the occasion?" He asked as he handed the second girl the pen, "I don't know maybe they're being generous, I am not complaining." Erza answered as she signed her own name last, in perfect cursive. "Natsu, your handwriting is horrible. Chicken scratch much?" He rolled his eyes, "Don't even start." He answered as he slung his backpack over his shoulders.

"Whatever." Erza stated as she grabbed her bag and closed the binder so she could quickly drop it back off at the Dean's office.

...

"Medium cappuccino with three sugars please." Erza said leaned over the counter with a smile, Juvia punched her order in and began to whip up the beverage. The scarlet haired went straight home after school to change into medium wash skinny jeans, a loose white v-neck top and a black leather jacket. With her long scarlet hair down and loose from being in a ponytail, she thought it was perfect attire for the cool weather. Juvia slid the cup over to her friend in exchange for a ten, "Can I get one of those strawberry cupcakes too?" She asked while gazing at the array of sweets. The blue haired worker nodded picked up a pair of tongs, she had had expected her friend to ask for one.

"So how was student prison?" Lucy asked as she came in with a fresh batch of muffins and began arranging them nicely on the display counter. "It was exquisite, your boyfriend was there too...as usual." She giggled. Lucy went red in a second and immediately shot back, "H-he's not my boyfriend!" Juvia giggled as she slid the plate over to Erza, "Oh Juvia it's not funny!" She wailed as she began to whip up a hot beverage for a waiting costumer. The scarlet haired girl shook her head at the blonde's overreaction and began to sip her coffee lightly, she heard the little bell ring as a new customer walked through the door.

Gray walked into the semi busy cafe and scanned the counter for a certain blue haired worker, instantly feeling at ease once he spotted her. He walked over and ordered his usual, regular iced coffee with two sugars and extra cream. "Juvia will get that ready for you." He smiled and handed her a crumbled five, one of the few dollar bills he had left. He managed to get caught up on his bills for the month due to taking on another job and a couple more fights, but the debt still needed to paid. He would need to keep going on like this for at least the next year and that's if he doesn't crash and burn first.

"Gray?" The sound of Juvia's voice snapped him back from his thoughts. It took him a second to get back into focus, he recently developed this dozing off habit due to lack of sleep and overworking himself. "Gray are you alright?" The blue haired cafe worker asked as she handed him his cold beverage. He shook his head a bit and chuckled, "Yeah my bad, I'll see you tomorrow."

Erza observed the whole interaction and could immediately tell something was off, she knew Gray for years and she had never seen him look so...worn down. Her gut was giving her the feeling that something was up. She pushed herself up and followed him out the door.

"Gray." She called, it was about forty degrees out and her breath formed a cloud as she spoke. "What Erza?" he said roughly over his shoulder. She wasn't taken aback by his tone at all, instead she crossed her arms. "What's wrong with you?" Gray scoffed, "Nothing." She wasn't convinced, "What is it?" She asked again firmly, she didn't care how pissy he got, she would ask the same question over and over if needed be. He turned around to face her, "Nothing is wrong." He lied, "I'm doing just fine so piss off." His voice level raised to almost a holler now and Erza stood there, not the least bit fazed. She knew he was lying, probably because he didn't want to burden anyone or just feels the need to take on the issue on his own. Either way Erza knew it was serious, and she didn't want anyone to make the mistake she did when she took matters into her own hands.

Her expression and tone softened, "Gray...you don't have to deal with whatever it is you're going through on your own. Let us help you." Gray shook his head, "What exactly can you do for me Erza?!" He yelled desperately, he could feel every ounce of stress and anger that he's been holding in for the past month practically surface at once. The scarlet haired girl could see the tears form in the corner of his dark eyes. "Gray.." She started, "No just let me take care of this, I always do." He cut her off quickly and took off walking to the direction of his car.

She sighed, knowing that Gray putting up walls and overworking himself would only lead to self destruction. She turned and punched the stone wall behind her in frustration, instant pain shot through her whole arm. She was too upset to even think about the pain, her friend was in trouble and he wouldn't tell anyone a damn thing. She lifted up her hand, her knuckles were already starting to bruise and swell. She calmed herself and that's when the pain started to take its full effect. She sighed, she was frustrated. She now fully understood how Jellal was feeling when she first met him.

Gray reminded her of herself.

...

 _ **Woohoo next chapter. School has been killing me, physically and mentally...smh rip. Edit/ I uploaded an old chapter instead of this one smh thats a neck!**_


	25. Fight or Flight Response

Sweat began to drip down the scarlet haired girl's forehead as she pushed through her workout, she was currently giving the heavy bag a beating of a lifetime. She didn't even wait to throw on her gloves, only wrapped up her hands. Every powerful punch she through helped her blow off small amounts of rage at a time, and she was full of it. The meeting earlier with Gray didn't go as she planned. She knew the boy for years and yet he couldn't tell her a thing, she saw how run down and overworked he looked and she couldn't do a thing about it-that's what was really getting to her. She continued throwing combination after combination, she could feel the burn in her core almost like her stomach was on fire. Her anger was enough to make her ignore the pain and growing exhaustion, she powered through, trying to make herself simmer down after the heated argument with one of her closest friends. Her bruised up knuckles began to swell again and bleed, she cooled it.

"I don't know who I should take more pity on, you or the bag?" Erza twisted her body around to come face to face with Gildarts, her semi mentor from before. "The bag I suppose." She answered, she did go overkill on the object, it still didn't stop swaying. He examined her bruised up and bloody right fist, "Anger issues much?" The scarlet haired girl rolled her eyes, instantly regretting punching that wall. Her hand would take weeks to heal and she was certain her knuckles were already fractured, or at least badly bruised.

"Your form could be better." He said bluntly.

"Excuse me?"

"Did I stutter little girl?" He crossed his arms. Erza felt her left eye twitch several times.

"I don't think you know who you're talking to." Gildarts let out an obnoxiously loud laugh at her claim. This ticked her off even more, "Got anything better to do old man than to bother someone?" She wiped some sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. "I was actually considering helping you out but I guess not." Erza rolled her eyes at his tone, she didn't need a trainer. "No thanks, I don't need it."

"I almost nailed you last time, I think you kinda do." The scarlet haired teen twitched again, flashbacks of the sparring match resurfaced in her mind. She then remembered of her goal of challenging the male division in the underground and dominating over Sting Euicliffe. Despite fighting guys and being victorious before, she knew that her goal was almost unreachable. But there was no shame in trying, she looked up at the guy's dark eyes and realized he was probably her ticket to success. "Fine, what do you got to offer?"

"Well first off." He uncrossed his arms, "Stop beatin on that damn hand of yours." Erza rolled her eyes at his tone. ' _Obviously'_ She said in her mind, she stretched out her fingers and winced as a sharp pain exploded throughout her entire hand, her knuckles gave off a numbness feeling and she knew she messed up...big time.

"Second...where the heck are your gloves?" She gritted her teeth at the question and pointed to her black gym bag, the male sighed and put a hand over his face as if he just found his teenage daughter spent half her night out drinking. "Well they sure as hell are not doin you any good sitting in a bag." He scolded, she rolled her eyes and grabbed them out of her bag to make him quit nagging her. She slipped them on and tried not to wince as they grazed over her injured knuckles.

"And third, I want to train you. You seem like a punk but I'm sure you got some skill." Erza felt her left eye begin to twitch again, _'Did this old man just call me a punk?'_ She thought to herself, baffled. She knew the man wasn't intending on being condescending but she still felt more irritated with every passing second. "Oh I know I got skill." She shot out the words faster than she could mentally process them. Gildarts raised an eyebrow, "I almost nailed you in under five minutes last time, and didn't you say your experience was only from street fights?"

Erza tightened the elastic on her ponytail, "No that's what _you_ said."

"Then what sort of experience do you got?" He inquired. Erza decided to let it all out since a bunch of people already knew this about her anyway, "I'm the champion of the female division in the underground." Gildarts gaped, he used to fight in neighboring businesses years ago before going pro and then becoming a trainer. He didn't keep up with the it anymore, but he did hear of a new champion by the name of Titania and long scarlet hair. He just didn't think a kid could get the best of all those female fighters, and to his dismay, he was wrong. _'Guess you really can't judge a book by its cover'_

"Underground fighting huh. If you're already the champion then what's your new goal?" He asked, still baffled by the position this girl held. Erza got tired of the ponytail cutting off circulation to her brain, she took it out and parted her hair in the middle, tying it in a low side ponytail with her now long middle parted bangs left loose. SHe answered, "Well I want to dominate the boys division, making me truly the best of the best." Gildarts looked at her as if she had fluff for brains, ' _Chick's crazy'_

He knew her goal was almost unreachable, but she was the champion of the female division despite being only a kid. So maybe it could be done. He sighed and reached a decision, "Seems like I got my work cut out for me." He knew this would be his most interesting student yet. He turned around and waved his hand as a gesture for the scarlet haired fighter to follow behind. "So what are we doing? New combos? Technique? Sparring again?" Gildarts shook his head, "No no and no." He answered bluntly. Erza raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Then what..?"

Gildarts pulled out a stool and placed it in front of Erza. "Sit." He said, she scoffed. "I'm no dog." He rolled his eyes, "Sit... _please._ " She huffed and sat down. He rolled out a large dry erase board and Erza felt as if she were in class all over again, she crossed her arms and waited for what's to come. He began writing on the board in dark blue marker, it read:

 **'Fight or Flight response'**

"You familiar with this?" He pointed to the words, she tilted her hand to gesture she knew a little bit.

"The fight or flight response is when your body releases a certain amount of ATP or adrenaline when you're in danger. Your stomach slows down digestion and other processes so you have the sudden energy boost to kick ass or run away." Erza did read up on this before but forgot the majority, she paid close attention to retain the information despite having a bored look on her face.

"There are two types, one uses the nerve system and the other uses the bloodstream." He drew two lines under the phrase he had written going in opposite directions. He labeled one Nervous system and the other Bloodstream. He continued on, "Sparked by either mental or physical changes, now I'm not gonna get technical cause this is boring. But I'm explaining this because we tend to use this energy when it isn't needed, for example when we're stressed. I want you to focus on using this energy when you're in that ring. If you tend to stress over a lot of issues you can spark this reaction and practically wreck your health."

Erza immediately thought of how much she stressed during the time when Irene went after her friends, she was stressing to the point where she couldn't eat or sleep, not to mention the constant feeling of having to throw up. Her mind then thought of Gray and the stress he might be feeling right now, she knew he was practically killing himself with the fighting, the jobs he was holding down and the stress that was weighing on him.

"Now." He said loudly, he placed the marker on the little holder on the board where the colors were. "Time for some workouts." Erza got up, she wanted to fight again instead, but he was her new mentor and working out was better than sitting on her ass.

They walked over to where all the equipment was, "Get in sit up position, your core needs to be your strongest asset, it's your foundation." He said as if she didn't already know that, she sat down and put her legs together. Gildarts picked up a twenty pound medicine ball and stood over her feet. "Everytime you go down halfway, I'm going to drop this. You are going to catch it, finish going down and come back up and throw it back to me." She nodded to show she understood, she never tried this workout before but it intrigued her and seemed easy enough.

She crossed her arms over her chest and went down halfway as instructed, she held out her hands and caught the red and black ball and went down to the floor, she shot back up and threw it back. After about twenty she really felt the burn. "Focus your breathing." Gildarts said as he dropped the ball on her again. Erza knew this was her biggest issue, she had this habit of holding in her breath as she grew tired or quickened up. She had to remember that it would only cause her to crash sooner and get her ass handed to her. She focused on her breathing and kept going, her core felt as if knives were slowly digging into her almost showing abs. She was indeed toned, but not six pack toned.

After about forty, Erza was ready to drop. The look on her reddening face was giving that away. "Twenty more let's go!" He yelled at her, she groaned and threw the ball up again despite her arms growing more and more tired. She powered on through and completed nine more, craving a shower and the comfort of her bed. After another six, she wanted to puke, her core felt like the pits of hell. Her mind was just blank as she went through the last five, she didn't even have the energy to create meaningful thoughts. She threw the last ball with all her might and he caught it. "Good job doing sixty. Tomorrow we'll get you to sixty-five or maybe seventy." Erza laid there on her back looking at him with a blank expression, her core was crying. She felt like those old people who fallen and couldn't get up.

Gildarts put the medicine ball back where it was and gave her a hand up. "Grab a drink and we'll move on the next exercise." The red head bee lined it to her gym bag and downed the whole water bottle she had packed. She walked back over to where Gildarts was and noticed he had placed small cones on the floor, distancing them. Erza groaned as she knew what this was, shuttle run.

"I wanna see how good your cardio is. Let's get started." He chuckled, clearly enjoying dogging out his new student, she rolled her eyes and took position with her one hand on the floor. "GO!" He shouted, Erza bolted back and forth about four times, practically throwing her arm on the floor at the last run. "11.5 seconds." He said giving a face that read 'Not bad.' "Given the distance." He started, "That was really impressive."

The scarlet haired underground fighter panted, she was sweating and she knew she probably smelled like absolute crap. Gildarts slipped the stopwatch in his pocket and prepared for the next workout, he chuckled again, he had intense workouts in store for the rest of the gym time that would definitely shape up the young fighter and probably leave her sore for the rest of the week.

...

 _ **Loved writing this and the idea of Gildarts as Erza's new trainer, also when I put a word in italics in the dialogue, it's as if the characters are putting emphasize on that word in case you were wondering! (:**_


	26. Titania's Wrath

Erza felt pain with every step she took as she trudged down the hallway on her way to her locker, Gildarts had her do a variety of hardcore workouts for hours and she felt the soreness practically everywhere from her core, to her legs, to her back muscles and arms. She felt like hell. Her long scarlet hair was left in a loose side braid with her side parted bangs left loose along with a couple of other strands handing over the other side of her face. She threw on some bronzer to give off a radiant glow to her complexion. She paired her uniform with black thigh highs, it went well with her mid-thigh reaching pleated skirt.

After a few more painful and slow steps she finally reached her locker, only to have a certain someone with blue hair blocking it as usual. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot on the ground repeatedly just to mess with him. "Yo who the fuck-" He started saying in a cold tone before turning around and seeing the scarlet haired student. His expression softened and he chuckled, "Of course." He said in a cocky tone. Erza smiled and he raised her chin with his fingers, leaving their faces merely inches apart. "And what have you been up to?" She blushed and swatted his hand away to distract him from it. "That's classified." She smirked and passed by him to her locker but turned around to face him. Jellal took this opportunity to stand over her and place his hand on the locker beside her head. "Shouldn't I be exclusive?" Erza scoffed, "You and your big ego."

He leaned over and whispered in her ear, "That's not the only thing that's big." Erza felt her face grow hot and Jellal took notice and flashed her a smirk. The first bell went off notifying _students_ that they had about five minutes before they would be marked late. Jellal backed away and chuckled, "See you around Scarlet." He said before walking off and leaving her flustered. She rolled her eyes and squatted down to grab her things from her bottom locker and put away her bag. She shook her head, Jellal really was something else. She didn't even know where the two stood, they didn't even talk about a possible relationship or anything. Erza wasn't one to rush and put a label on anything, as long as Jellal wasn't entertaining anyone else she was fine with whatever they had going on right now.

Erza slammed her locker door shut with her foot and made her way over to her first period Honors Geometry course, her thighs were on fire and she wondered if she would make it through the day with all these textbooks without collapsing.

...

"Erza Scarlet."

The scarlet haired girl was snapped out of her daydreams when she heard her name being announced in a strong firm tone, she flashed her last period teacher a flustered look. Her math teacher wasn't pleased, "Care to explain how your classmate found the answer to this equation? You should know, we just went over it." Erza hated when teachers made a fool out of students like this. She stared at the quadratic formula on the bored and instantly shut down, her brain was too foggy for this right now. "No." she answered in a bored tone. Her teacher shook her head, "As I expected." She answered before turning to the whole class. "Students. I'm about to give you some important advice, it costs nothing to pay attention!"

Erza rolled her eyes, she wasn't in the mood. Class was over in ten minutes anyway so who cares, she brought her average back up to a 94 so she didn't know why her teacher was on her case all of a sudden. She closed her textbook as the loud sound of the bell rang through her ears, she got up and exited the class to make her way to the next period.

"Whats up badass?" She rolled her eyes as Natsu appeared on the side of her. "The aching in every part of my body. You?" The pinkette adjusted the grip on his bag. "Back at it huh?"

"More like back in training, only been hitting the gym not the ring."

"How come?"

The red head glared at a girl who roughly bumped into her before responding. "Well I already dominated all of the female fighters in the area, so I though I'd try something a bit more advanced."

Natsu cocked his head, "Whats that mean?"

Erza sighed, "You'll know when I achieve it."

Natsu disregarded it and waved off the scarlet haired student as he waited by the door for his next class, Erza continued down the hallway.

"What the hell?" The scarlet haired girl was snapped out of fogginess when she felt her shoulder collide with someone. That someone looked awfully familiar, the hair was a dead giveaway. It was Mira and she was furious.

"Oh its you." She said in disgust. Erza rolled her eyes, _Great...another Strauss enemy..._

"My bad, I'll be more careful next time." She replied politely, considering it was _her_ fault.

Mira took a step closer, sizing her up. She was dressed in the usual Academy uniform, she paired her skirt with sheer black tights and her white hair was tied up into a cute high ponytail.

"You know I usually treat mostly everyone with kindness and respect, but I've been meaning to look for you."

The red head cocked her head to the side, the tone in the girl's voice was a clear indicator that Mira wanted to start something and today...given her soreness just wasn't her best day to defend herself in a fight.

"And why's that?"

Mira glared, "Because I don't take it lightly when people put their hands on my little sister."

Erza wasn't intimidated. "She had it coming." She shrugged.

"I would smack that look off your face and then knock your ass out, but I can't afford to ruin my reputation here at this school. But when we're on the streets or in the underground, I'm no longer holding back."

And with that, Mira adjusted her jacket and took off into her next period class. Erza rolled her eyes again, "Riiiiight." She said sarcastically before finally making her way to English.

...

'Soo basically she threatened you?" Juvia said as she slid the red head over her usual order of a cappuccino and a small strawberry cupcake. "Yes." Erza said before taking a sip. "Despite the fact that you handed her her ass in a match a while back?" Erza giggled at that memory, "Yes." Juvia shook her head as she wiped down the granite counter and cashier with a sanitary wipe, she tossed it out and began taking the next customer's order.

"Hi, can I get a medium black coffee and a sesame seed bagel?" Juvia punched it in and completed the transaction before walking away to whip up the waiting guy's order.

Erza turned her head at the sound of the bell ringing when the door opened, she smiled at who it was. "What's up Scarlet?" Jellal said as he took the seat next to her. She had her hot beverage to her lips, "Well I have a fight later, you coming?"

"You're fighting again? Who?" Juvia chimed in as she arranged a set of muffins on the pastry display. "Yeah I thought you beat everyone already?" Jella asked, Erza

smirked. "No I haven't beaten everyone just yet."

...

"Remember, strike first and be quick. Conserve as much strength as you can." Gildarts instructed her as the red head fighter popped in her mouth guard, which was the only protection she ever wore. Her opponent tonight was a male fighter, by the name of midnight. She had heard of his wrath over other fighters and how badlyhe ended up injuring him. Erza wasn't intimidated, he would bleed just like her and everyone else.

She got into fighting stance directly facing the other fighter, he was more lean than she expected. All the rumors she heard about this guy made him seem like the biggest and most fierce fighter in the male division. _Don't underestimate him._ She told herself in her mind, him being slim doesn't mean anything. He could very well be capable of taking her down tonight. _Don't let that happen either._

Midnight was in stance, watching her like a hawk and waiting for her to strike first. "Titania huh? I never pictured myself against a girl, but I suppose you're worthy enough."

His taunting words fueled her adrenaline even more, she struck first with a cross and jab to get a feel for him. He swiftly moved and avoided the quick attacks easy, her second attack was a few quick jabs and then a cross aimed for his throat. He evaded her punches with minimal effort. He countered this time and managed to deliver a powerful attack to her nose. Blood began to drip rapidly and she took a few steps back.

Jellal was watching with Juvia in the crowd, his blood began to boil when he saw the blood. He was worried for her, considering her opponent was a guy and a powerful fighter at that. He looked over at Juvia, who had her eyes glued to the match with her hands intertwined and over her chest.

Midnight began attacking the red head more severely now, he threw a roundhouse to Erza's side and managed to hit her lower rib, cracking it. She gasped and fought the urge to put her hand over the injury. She kept her hands up to her face and dodged the next punch. Her head flew back when he struck her face again, then

instantly after that she felt a powerful uppercut hit her stomach. She coughed and spit out the blood the pooled in her mouth.

She needed a plan fast, she was taking too much damage.

"Oh Titania, I thought you would put in more of a fight." He kicked her stomach, and she fell to her knees. He kicked her again and again, until she coughed up more blood. Erza felt dazed and she knew the countdown had begun, she took a deep breath and got up. Her friends and fans were here and she couldn't let them see her fall.

 _Alright Erza, enough screwing around._

"Oh you want more?" Midnight taunted as he got back into stance. Erza shifted hers and prepared herself, she was bloody and bruised so she knew she had to end this fast and give it all she had. Midnight threw a punch, Erza shifted and stepped in to grapple his arm. Once she had a good grip she shifted her body into his direction. She lifted up her leg to add more and she pushed him down. She was on top of him now and used her knees to pinned down his arms.

He didn't look worried at all, he kept his poker face and this angered her more. She began punching, hard. She kept going and even when her hand was starting to bruise, she kept going and adding more strength. Blood was all over her hand and the last punch she delivered ended up breaking it. Midnight was long past out of consciousness. He gritted her teeth as her fist began to throb, moving her hand back to a normal position caused even more pain to shoot through her.

She exited the ring where Gildarts greeted her. "Kid, that was brutal. Painful to watch actually." Erza shrugged, she needed a towel. The older man handed her the one he had draped over his shoulder. She wiped her face and coughed into it, soaking it in blood. She popped out her mouth guard and wiped it down, placing it back into its case. "He really got you good, I thought you were out. I understand that you were a badass and won but you took way too much damage." Erza sighed at his words. He was right. The damage she took wasn't worth the win, it was only one fight and she was ready to drop. "But..." Gildarts started, "That technique you used was badass." Erza beamed, she had picked it up practicing with other guys at the gym.

"Erza!" Jellal rushed over to her, the scarlet haired fighter winced at the pain when he hugged her. "Oh fuck, sorry sorry I shouldn't have." She rolled her eyes at his apology. She placed her hand at the back of his neck and went on her tip toes to kiss him on the lips, she felt the heat rise to her cheeks as she pulled away. "I need something with sugar right now." She blurted. Juvia, who was standing beside Jellal rolled her eyes. "Come on."

...

"I can't believe Juvia is doing this for you." The blue haired girl said in third person as she unlocked the glass door to the café and entered in. She walked to the back and cursed as she walked into a chair. Within a few seconds the café was illuminated and Erza and Jellal took their seats by the pastry display. Erza managed to change into dark skinny jeans and a black knit sweater that hung off her right shoulder. "So what will it be." Juvia said behind the counter, she was wearing baggy gray Adidas sweats with a form fitting white tank.

"Lemme get that chocolate chip muffin and the slice of chocolate cake and the oreo cupcake." She said as she eyed the treats with lust, her craving only growing. Juvia giggled as she got out a plate and used a pair of silver tongs to grab them. "Want anything Jellal?" He perched up and pointed to the M&M filled brownie. "So, what now Erza? You gonna dominate over the guys in the underground too?" He asked, hoping the answer was no. He couldn't stand looking at her beaten up and bandaged like this.

Erza pondered the question, regarding her goal. She sighed, "No." Her answer was truthful. "I wanted to, but I have another plan in mind." He raised an eyebrow,

"And that would be?" Erza slid over her plate of goodies closer to her. "I'm retiring from the underground." She said bluntly before biting into her muffin. Jellal looked at her with shock, "But fighting is your...passion." The scarlet haired girl swallowed, "Im retiring from the underground, not from fighting." She began to dig into her cupcake now. "Then what is it that you're gonna do?" Juvia asked, she had a glass of water on the side of her and she was munching on a toasted bagel.

Erza set down her cupcake, "I wanna go legit."

"Seriously?" Juvia stated in disbelief. Jellal chimed in, "That could work, you're really talented so you could easily get sponsored." The red haired smiled, "And I know just the gym to go to." She took a bite out of her cake, she was ready to leave the underground life for good and make the change.

...

 _ **Its been months I know, I've been so busy and under the weather severely as of late but I finally managed to get some writing in! I apologize for**_

 _ **any errors in this. ):**_


	27. Epilogue

**3 years later...**

Erza grabbed her bag out of her locker, after a long day of studies she was finally permitted to leave. She was a senior in High School now, and her plan to go pro had worked out as a success. She had won thousands of dollars since then and won a few championships, she trains at Marcus's Gym regularly and even found herself training other young fighters. She closed her locker and slung her back over her shoulder, her last fight was months ago and she had been debating on fighting regularly again.

She shook her head, contracts were offered to her. Contracts that anyone her age would be honored to get. She turned them down, she didn't need to be flying around the world and leaving school. Fighting has only been her passion but the career she wanted was far different.

...

"High School's finally almost over." Lucy chimed as she whipped herself up an iced coffee, she had grown out her hair even more to past her hip. She had it tied up into a long side pony tail. Juvia was working in the back, she was promoted to manager a year ago due to Evergreen constantly being away. Erza toyed with the spoon in cappuccino. "Any news on Princeton?" She asked Lucy, the blonde's face fell and she walked over to the red haired girl. "Okay, you're the first person I wanted to tell."

Now Erza was intrigued, she could barely hear Lucy's whisper. "I got accepted!" Erza jumped up, "Lucy that's amazing!" The blonde was beaming, "I know, I always wanted to be a writer and now I can finally pursue that." Erza was so happy for her friend, she had been waiting weeks to hear back from the school. "How about that university you applied to?" Lucy was well aware of Erza's dream to pursue natural medicine, and she's been applying to a few schools who offered the program.

"I got accepted to the National School of Natural Medicine." Lucy beamed, "Erza! Why didn't you say anything? When did you find out?" The red head smiled, "A while ago, its not that huge of a deal I mean..."

"Quiet!, That's a huge deal. Does Juvia know? Juvia!" She yelled, Erza sighed at the blonde's volume. "Yess Lucy?" The blue haired girl came out, "Erza was accepted into the school of her dreams!" Juvia's face lit up, "The National School of Natural Medicine? Erza that's amazing." Erza smiled at her friends, Lucy getting into Princeton was one of the best things she heard today. As for Juvia, it was already public knowledge that she would be attending a four year college first and then she would be going into med school for dentistry.

The sound of the little bell rand through the girls' ears as the door opened, it was Jellal and Natsu. "Its brick outside man." Natsu complained to Jellal. "Its almost 50degrees out there. Its the best weather we've been getting all March." Natsu rolled his eyes, "It's cold." "Whatever, flame brain."

Erza beamed at the sight of her boyfriend, they've been official for almost three years now and Jellal was going to pursue his goal of becoming a Private Investigator with his own business. "Hey." She said, Jellal walked over and kissed her. "Still in uniform?" He inquired, she rolled her eyes. "I got here right after school." She didn't bring clothes with her, not that it mattered much anyway. The thigh highs get annoying after a while though. "Where's Gray?" Erza looked over at Juvia, "Oh he's at home finishing up a last minute assignment." Erza rolled her eyes again, Gray had a habit as to leaving things last minute. "And when are you coming home Juvia?"

She raised an eyebrow, Juvia's been sleeping out at Gray's more than her own apartment. "Actually..." She started.

"Actually...?" Erza repeated. "Juvia's decided she would be moving in with Gray." She answered in third person. Erza was taken aback. "Well its about time girl, half your wardrobe is there anyway." She finished the rest of her beverage. "I guess I'll be alright on my own." She said in an exaggerated tone of voice. Lucy placed down her beverage. "Erza I'll move in." The red looked up at her, "Oh girl I was kidding you don't gotta." She said, hoping the blonde would say yes anyway.

"No I want to, my apartment has the worst neighbors and I've been needing to find something cheaper anyway. I'll go halfs on the rent and cover some utilities." Erza smiled, she was worried she'd have to bunk out on her own and now she wouldn't have to. "I told you could move in with me." Natsu said as he sipped on his hot coffee. Lucy raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend, "And clean after you and your cat? I think not." Lucy has been staying at Natsu's and the amount of dishes and laundry she had done was ridiculous. "Its not that bad." Lucy swatted his head at his response. "I should be payed for my services."

Erza giggled, "So I guess it's settled then. Lucy moves in with me and Natsu and Jellal stay where they're at." Jellal had moved in with Natsu after the shooting years ago, and he's been finding himself cleaning up more than he wanted. "I can move in too Erza." he half joked as he glanced at Natsu. Erza shook her head and placed her hand on his cheek. "I don't think so just yet." She slid over her cup to Lucy who made her another beverage. "Yet. You hear that Natsu, she said yet." The pinkette rolled his eyes and gulped his coffee. Erza raised hers to her lips and glanced at her friends, High School was ending and she still had the most amazing friends.

What more could she want?

...

 _ **Andddd that concludes this story, I'm thinking about making a shorter sequel to this but that will be later.**_


End file.
